Australian families call for urgent action on childhood dementia

A devastating but little known health crisis is gripping Australian families — childhood dementia.

It affects as many children as cancer, but with no treatments, no cure, and little public awareness, parents are left fighting not only the disease, but also a system that isn’t equipped to help.

Megan Maack, CEO of the Childhood Dementia Initiative, says most Australians have never even heard of childhood dementia despite its devastating toll.

“Most people don’t know about childhood dementia, but it’s a devastating reality for thousands of families around Australia,” she said.

“A baby is born every three days in Australia from a condition that will cause dementia in childhood and probably the easiest way to describe it is progressive brain damage.

“Babies are born seemingly healthy and