Our purpose
Transform research, care and quality of life for children with dementia so they may live long and fulfilling lives.
Childhood Dementia Initiative is driving world first action for every child with dementia.
We are finding better ways to research and treat the 70+ disorders that lead to childhood dementia.
Through bold, innovative approaches and systemic change we are improving outcomes for children with dementia across the world.
No family should be left to watch their child suffer and die from dementia.
Our focus
Focusing on dementia, the commonality, rather than the underlying genetic cause will drive progress in therapeutic development and care for the 70+ genetic disorders as a collective.
75% of children with dementia have a life expectancy of 18 or less, with fewer than 5% of childhood dementia disorders having any therapies. Care for these children and their families is often inadequate and inequitable. Why?
Silos
The 70+ rare genetic disorders are referred to, treated and researched in isolation.
Awareness
When treated in silos there is insufficient knowledge of the problem and its impact.
Funding
When treated in silos there aren’t economies of scale. There is a lack of investment in therapeutic development and care.
Our strategic objectives
Awareness and education
We increase the awareness of childhood dementia and educate researchers, health professionals and families.
Advocacy and influence
We are the voice of childhood dementia, framing the conversation and ensuring we are heard wherever change is needed.
Facilitation and coordination
We bring great minds together to find solutions for childhood dementia and catalyse change.
Organisational sustainability
We build strong foundations in funding and governance to grow into a global, sustainable entity.
Our Impact
Equitable and quality care for children with dementia and their families.
Research is optimised to deliver effective treatments and improve the quantity.
The world knows childhood dementia exists and is unacceptable.
Our publications
Our white paper, Childhood Dementia: the case for urgent action highlights the size, scale and wide-reaching impacts of childhood dementia.
The burden study prepared by THEMA Consulting, Childhood Dementia in Australia, quantifies the burden of childhood dementia on patients, carers, the healthcare system and our society.
Why now?
This is a time of unprecedented technological advancement and there is significant opportunity to apply this progress to childhood dementia disorders. This includes the fields of genomics, gene editing and gene therapy, artificial intelligence, synthetic biology and stem cell therapies.
Every month, more babies are born with disorders that lead to childhood dementia. We must find the answers, fast.
“We are living in the 21st century yet there is no cure. We are doing gene-editing, a man went to the moon, yet my child is dying from a condition known for 100 years – it’s unfathomable.”– Anna, mother of Sebby
“While the individual disorders may be rare, when we consider there are at least 70 conditions that present as childhood dementia, the incidence and impact on the health system and families is far greater than most people realise.”
“When we look at this constellation of diseases, identifying subsets with similar mechanisms empowers us to have learnings across individual diseases - achieving economies of scope and opportunities for impact across patient populations. By working under the umbrella of childhood dementia, there is tremendous potential to translate this research into therapeutics and diagnostics. It is such an innovation.”
-Tiffany Boughtwood, Board Director
