Should we refer for a dementia assessment? A checklist to help know when to be concerned about dementia in adults with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Accessible summary Care staff for people with learning disabilities sometimes need help to know when to ask for help when a resident has a problem with his or her memory. We’ve made an easy checklist to help them know when to ask for extra help. We hope it will speed up finding out whether people have dementia so we can offer the best help possible. It seems to be really useful and we’d like to do more research in the future. Summary The aim of this research was to develop a simple screening checklist to help carers and professionals know when to make a referral for a dementia assessment. A checklist was completed for all new referrals to a dementia service for people with intellectual disabilities. The obtained scores were compared to the diagnostic outcome of a comprehensive dementia assessment. The data ( n = 159) indicate a higher score on the checklist correlates significantly with a subsequent diagnosis of dementia. Cut‐off scores are explored. The checklist appears to be a useful tool to prompt referrals for a full dementia assessment. By helping the referrer to know when to be concerned about dementia, it may reduce the number of people referred late or not at all.