Help Families Participate in FTD Research
Your gift today helps families affected by FTD take part in research and moves progress forward.
Through the Dickinson Empowerment Fund, you can empower people to share their experiences, inform scientific priorities, and accelerate the path to the first effective treatments.
All gifts matched up to $25,000 through May 31.
Wendy & Jeff's Story
Wendy and her husband, Jeff, faced years of uncertainty before receiving an accurate diagnosis. Today, Wendy advocates for research so other families can find answers sooner and progress can move forward.
Jeff was a brilliant businessman who in his 60s began to display unusual behaviors like a loss of empathy, severe depression, and impulsiveness - I knew something was seriously wrong.
I did my own research and shared Jeff’s symptoms with several neurologists, advocating for more evaluation. Conflicting scans and tests led to more misdiagnoses, including other dementias. It wasn’t until Jeff’s autopsy that I learned his actual diagnosis: corticobasal degeneration or CBD, a type of FTD.
Jeff contributed in many ways, including participating in a longitudinal biomarker study, but ultimately, it was his autopsy donation that confirmed the disease he lived with, as well as, the accuracy of newly evolving biomarkers.
I believe that research and brain donations are the only way to truly improve the lives of those impacted by FTD. Researchers and neurologists genuinely care and are working tirelessly to achieve timely, accurate diagnosis and treatments.
They cannot do this without our help.
Wendy Cogan
FTD Research Advocate & Former Care Partner
Honoring a Legacy, Transforming Tomorrow
For nearly two decades, Susan Dickinson has guided AFTD with vision, compassion, and determination – transforming a small volunteer-led organization into a leading force against FTD.
Because of her leadership, families are more connected, research is advancing, and hope is stronger than ever. As Susan retires this May, we honor her legacy by continuing the progress she helped build.
Susan and AFTD's Founder
Helen-Ann Comstock in 2008