Dementia in young often misdiagnosed WHEN Kate Swaffer told her son she had dementia, he laughed. "But mum that's a funny old person's disease," he said. Ms Swaffer, 54, says her son's views are shared by most people, including medical professionals and even herself initially. "I even worked in the dementia area and never really considered young people got dementia," Ms Swaffer told reporters. When I first found out I cried for weeks and weeks. A report into people with younger onset dementia has found they face unique challenges including misdiagnosis, losing employment, limited access to appropriate services and social challenges. It found there are an estimated 24,000 younger Australians with dementia with 2000 people in residential care who are under 65. The report's findings are the result of the Alzheimer's Australia national summit held in Melbourne this week. Ms Swaffer, who lost her job after being unable to drive, said age-appropriate services are needed for younger sufferers. It doesn't follow the normal order of life for an elderly parent to put a middle aged or younger daughter into aged care, which if I go into care is the only place available currently. Tony Walsh, whose partner was diagnosed in his 60s, said having a loved one suffer dementia was like a slow death. He said partners often grieved the loss of loved ones to the disease long before they died. It's not like someone dying suddenly. It's a very, very long drawn out, slow process. It's very difficult once you get to that situation to lose the person who you've cared for, who you relate to and they just disappear out of your life. He said his partner was not able to mix with people his own age living in an aged care facility with disabled elderly people over 90. Alzheimer's Australia is seeking $200 million over the next five years for dementia research in the 2013 federal Budget.