Minneapolis-based Children's Author Nancy Carlson to Give Keynote at AFTD Conference

MINNEAPOLIS, May 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) is the leading form of dementia for people under age 60. Currently incurable and untreatable, FTD has profound effects on the lives of more than 50,000 Americans. Accurate diagnosis can take years, and options to connect with peers and experts are all too rare, leaving individuals and families devastated, isolated and confused.

Each year, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) hosts an education conference so that people impacted by FTD can meet in person and share resources and information.  Hundreds of FTD experts, researchers, medical professionals, caregivers and persons diagnosed gather to make this annual event one of crucial importance for all impacted by FTD.

This year's conference will take place in Minneapolis, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Minneapolis-Park Place, on Friday, May 13. It will run from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., followed by a dinner reception. Attendees will learn from and engage leading FTD experts, including staff from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and the Mayo Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, such as Dr. Bradley Boeve, Dr. David Knopman and Charlene Martin-Lille, MA.

Susan Suchan, living with a form of FTD called primary progressive aphasia, will provide a welcome. The Keynote Address will be provided by Nancy Carlson, a Minnesota native, and accomplished author and illustrator of 64 children's books. As caregiver to her husband Barry, Nancy documents her family's FTD journey in a blog series, Putting One Foot in Front of the Other, http://puttingonefootinfrontoftheother.com/category/my-story/.

Walk-in registrations are welcome. General registration is $75, but individuals and families can request that this fee be waived. Generous support from the conference's sponsors, including FORUM Pharmaceuticals and Lilly, has helped to make that possible.

For more information: http://www.theaftd.org/newsroom/aftd-2016-education-conference.

About FTD: FTD is the most prevalent form of dementia for individuals under 60 in the U.S; roughly 60% of cases occur in people 45-64 years old. The hallmark of FTD is a gradual, progressive decline in behavior and/or language, with memory usually relatively preserved.

About AFTD: The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration is the leading nonprofit working to improve the quality of life of people affected by FTD in the United States, and to drive research to a cure. Learn more at www.theaftd.org, or via www.facebook.com/TheAFTD or twitter.com/AFTDCure.

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SOURCE Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration

Related Links

http://www.theaftd.org