F John Barritt was one of Bermuda’s best-known Speakers but, according to his daughter, Alzheimer’s robbed him of his admirable voice.

Jennifer Johnson lost her father, a former Speaker of the House of Assembly, almost two years ago. She spoke to The Royal Gazette to shed some light on the condition, which is becoming better understood thanks to Action on Alzheimer’s & Dementia (AAD).

The local charity has sought to educate the community on Alzheimer’s since founder Elizabeth Stewart lost her own mother.

A neurodegenerative disease, it is the most common cause of dementia and cannot be stopped, slowed or prevented. Data suggests that people who have strong social support are less likely to have dementia symptoms.

“To understand what’s going on with someone, you have to live with them,” Mrs Johnson said.

When she lost her mother in 2006, Mrs Johnson and her husband Richard moved into her old family home to stay close to Mr Barritt.

“My dad, he was very good at hiding things. He didn’t really want us to know that his brain wasn’t working properly. There were little things that happened that made us aware as a family to understand what was happening to him,” she said.

Mrs Johnson is one of four siblings, including her brother, John Barritt, former One Bermuda Alliance leader and United Bermuda Party MP.

She said that the charity’s weekly meetings gave her knowledge that enabled her family to fully support her father after she felt disappointed by resources at the hospital.

“I was desperate for help at that point, she said. “He was a very gentle person but the Alzheimer’s made him very aggressive — very unusual for my dad.

“Normally he was the sweetest man. It turned him into a monster at times. It really did. He would have been horrified that he became like that.”

When she took him to a gerontologist for a formal assessment he felt that he was being tested. “That upset him a lot,” she said. “He felt that he failed.

“He was the most wonderful speaker. I know that he’s my hero, but my dad could speak so well. In the end, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t talk to us. It robbed him of everything. That was tough for me. To see that happen to my dad.

Mrs Johnson attended the charity’s monthly meetings and described them as “a constant source of support and help.”

“They’re very, very good at not just the talk — they do something. They care,” she said.

“They didn’t just help us and then walk away. I just can’t speak more highly of them. I couldn’t have managed without them.”

Mrs Johnson said the experience has left her wary.

“I can identify things that my father began to struggle with like paperwork and filing and stuff like that. I’m beginning at 69 to find that a challenge, so I’m scared,” she said.

“I’ve got to make sure and my husband’s aware — because we don’t have any children — that there’s a plan in place.

“It’s not stopping me from living but there is that worry in the back of my mind. I just want to make sure that I have things in place and my husband knows my wishes.”

The charity’s occupational therapist, Marie Fay, also emphasised the importance of a correct diagnosis.

“It is important for a number of reasons,” she said. “It helps people to access services such as ours but it also helps people plan for the future too. Because, if this is dementia, dementia is a progressive condition and people are going to require more hands-on assistance over time.

“Having people make decisions about who’s going to make decisions for them if they’re not able to.”

AAD offers therapeutic programmes such as music therapy, art therapy, pet therapy and exercise classes.

These non-pharmacological therapies are currently believed to be the best form of treatment for dementia.

“And we really are educating that people are still there,” Mrs Fay added. “They’re still in there. They may withdraw because they’ve had a lack of human connection over a long period of time, but it’s still possible to reach people. We see that a lot in therapy programmes that we offer.

“People that staff would say haven’t even opened their eyes or lifted a finger in some time, given the opportunity to come to the table and be given a paintbrush or to sit and listen to music.

“It’s amazing how that can draw people back out.”