Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has been diagnosed with dementia, the Carter Center said in a statement Tuesday.

Carter is the founder of The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, an organization that supports caregivers for those who are elderly or experiencing illness or disability.

“We recognize, as she did more than half a century ago, that stigma is often a barrier that keeps individuals and their families from seeking and getting much-needed support,” the Carter family said in the statement. The family doesn’t intend to comment further, the statement added, but hopes the news will encourage others to have similar conversations.