Learning disabilities

Resources about dementia for people with learning disabilities and the people who support them include:

Easy Read factsheets

We have two factsheets for people with learning disabilities, developed with the British Institute of Learning Disabilities, in Easy Read format. These use simple language in manageable chunks alongside images. One factsheet explains dementia to a person who has a diagnosis, while the other looks at how to understand and support someone else with the condition.

• See our Easy Read factsheet 1: What is dementia? and Easy Read factsheet 2: Supporting a person with dementia.

Jenny's diary

Developed through Society-funded research, this booklet and set of postcards support conversations about dementia with people who have a learning disability – both a person with dementia and those around them. Different versions include one that uses the term ‘intellectual disability’ instead, an ebook format, translations into Italian, Traditional Chinese and German, and a text-only Norwegian version.

• Download Jenny's diary and postcards.

A guide for families

Drawing on the author’s specialist experience, this addresses the many questions that can arise when someone with a learning disability develops dementia. Emphasising the need for good communication and planning, it supports informed decisions about a person’s health and care.

• Intellectual disabilities and dementia: A guide for families, by Karen Watchman (Jessica Kingsley, 2017), 120 pages, £14.99, ISBN: 9781849056779.

Ann has dementia

A picture book to help carers and professionals develop dialogue with a person who has learning disabilities if they develop dementia. Accompanying guidance includes text describing each picture for a ready-made story, though you can also make up your own narrative.

• Ann has dementia, by Sheila Hollins (Books Beyond Words, 2012), 60 pages, £10, ISBN: 9781874439141.

Next steps

• See our online shop for a range of books.