Caring For Someone With Dementia

What is Dementia?

Today, more than 800,000 people live with dementia in the UK. This is projected to grow by up to 40% within the next 15 years. Dementia can affect people in different ways, or with different combinations of symptoms.

The risk of developing dementia increases as we get older (usually 65+).

Dementia is a syndrome associated with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities. This includes problems with:

•     Memory loss
•     Thinking speed
•     Mental agility
•     Language
•     Understanding
•     Judgement

Caring for someone with dementia

When a person with dementia finds that their mental abilities are declining, they often feel vulnerable and in need of reassurance and support. The people closest to them – including their carers, friends and family – need to do everything they can to help the person to retain their sense of identity and feelings of self-worth.

As a carer, you need to see the person you are caring for rather than the condition. You should ask yourself how you would want to receive care? What might upset you? What would happen if something was not meeting your expectations.

Stonebridge College – Dementia Awareness Course

Does one of your family members have dementia? Or are you a carer working with a person with dementia?

There is always so much to learn about the illness.

The purpose of our Dementia Awareness Course is to improve your clinical practice when working with people with dementia.

It seeks to do this by considering seven distinct but interrelated areas that, collectively, will give you a greater degree of awareness of dementia and what you can do to help.

These units seek to address the following questions:

1.     What is it like for someone to have dementia?
2.     What exactly is dementia?
3.     What should our practice be like?
4.     Can we communicate with people with dementia?  If so, how?
5.     What can we do to help people with dementia?
6.     How can we help family and friends caring for a loved one with dementia?
7.     What are the legal and ethical issues of working with people with dementia?

There is no experience or previous qualifications required for enrolment on this course. It is available to all students, of all academic backgrounds.

On completion of your course, you will receive two certificates: Certificate 1, issued by Stonebridge Associated Colleges: Dementia Awareness Certificate Certificate 2, issued by ABC Awards: Level 2 Dementia Awareness Certificate of Achievement

Find out more about our course here.