102: Care and Compassion for Dementia in Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
Hosted By: David Taylor BSN, RN, CDDN and Zachary Edmiston EMSN, RN
Instructional Level: Introductory
Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning and behavioral abilities that is severe enough to interfere with activities of daily living. There are multiple forms of dementia including Lewy body dementia, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia. According to NADD, the biopsychosocial approach is a whole person approach to support addressing all potential areas that may impact a person’s response to treatments. Although there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, there are many benefits in receiving an accurate and early diagnosis.
Learning Objectives:
- Delineate what is Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) vs Mental Illness (MI) vs. Dual Diagnosis (DD)
- Learn the factors that increase risk for cognitive changes in people living with developmental disabilities as they age.
- List common changes that warrant screening someone living with a developmental disability for dementia
- Describe strategies for aging well.
