Catalogue

Overview

This course provides an introduction to dementia, including the causes of dementia, treatments for dementia, symptoms and progression of dementia, and working with people with dementia. It also covers issues aroud younger people with dementia, and working and driving with dementia. The course discusses the effects on the person with dementia, and how those effects can be addressed through the use of communication techniques, adjustments to the physical environment, and an understanding of the problems faced by people with dementia. It is aimed at those who come into contact with dementia through their work, such as care workers and healthcare assistants, and will be useful for anyone who works in a customer-facing role in any industry.

Audience

This course is for anyone who needs to be able to support people with dementia, either in a formal capacity as a carer, or in an informal capacity, such as a shop assistant.  People who should find this course useful are:

Care workers

Healthcare assistants

Customer-facing staff in any industry including shops, banks, leisure centres, transport, etc

Support staff in health care settings such as GP's surgeries and hospitals

About this course

This course is designed to give an awareness of dementia, it's causes, symptoms, and how it affects those who live with the condition, and their carers.  It is split into two modules:

Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Living with Dementia

The first module covers early symptoms, what people with dementia are still able to do, causes of dementia, diagnosis, progression of the condition, treatments and planning for the future. The second module looks at young onset dementia and how that affects family life and work.  Driving following a diagnosis of dementia is included in this module.  It also covers how to support a person with dementia, communication, perception, the home environment and maintaining independence.

Objectives

In this course you will learn about:

What dementia is

The symptoms of dementia

Diagnosing dementia

The progression of dementia

Treatment for dementia

Taking care of yourself

Planning for the future

Younger people with dementia

Working and driving with dementia

The importance of maintaining communication with people with dementia

The possible effects of dementia on perception

How to support a person with dementia

The support that carers need

Where to get further information

Content

Some of the topics covered are:

What is dementia; how dementia is diagnosed; symptoms of dementia; types of dementia; early stage dementia; late stage dementia; 'aggression' in people with dementia; working with dementia; driving with dementia; treatments; support for carers; effects on perception; memory loss; living with dementia; planning for the future; communication; the importance of social contact.