Vicky Donnelly and Kate Earnshaw describe how they raised awareness of the needs of people with down syndrome and alzheimer’s disease through developing a training programme

In recent years a considerable amount has been written about Alzheimer’s disease in people with Down syndrome. Most of this literature highlights the need to train both staff and carers. In order to meet the needs of this client group appropriately, training must focus on a number of areas, such as basic signs and symptoms of the disease, common health problems, health surveillance and appropriate assessment and care management. Indeed, on the subject of signs and symptoms, a 1994 Down Syndrome Association and the Mental Health Foundation study (Crayton et al 1994) looked at the service needs of people with Down Syndrome who developed Alzheimer’s disease. The report stated that: ‘In order for services to provide adequate care, they must be aware of the risk of older people with Down syndrome developing Alzheimer’s disease.’ Care staff must be able to identify those developing Alzheimer’s disease, it added (Crayton et al 1994)