Module Title

Understanding Ageing and Intellectual Disability

Module content

• The determinants of health and well being for older adults with an intellectual disability: Evidence from IDS TILDA

Module Title

Dementia

Module content

• Risk and protective factors for dementia in people with an intellectual disability
• The complexity of assessment in people with Intellectual Disability
• The Assessment Process and key components of comprehensive work up
• Disclosure and tailored communication
• Brain Health

Module Title

The Language of Behaviour – Understanding and alleviating emotional distress in persons with dementia

Module content

• Alleviating emotional distress in persons with dementia
• Understand the role of the environment and how it can influence the persons overall sense of well being
• Ways to adapt the living environment to make it conductive to well-being.

Module Title

Psycho-social approaches to care

Module content

• Person Centred dementia Care
• Evidenced based practical strategies to support people live well with dementia

Module Title

End of Life

Module content

• Complexity of end stage dementia care
• Considerations in relation to nutrition and hydration across the continuum of dementia
• Eating and Drinking and Nutritional challenges
• Evidence based for the provision of supportive and palliative care for person with dementia and their family/staff caregivers

Professor Mary McCarron,
Director, Trinity Centre for Ageing and Intellectual Disability
Principal Investigator, IDS-TILDA, Executive Director, National Intellectual Disability Memory Service

Prof Mary McCarron is the Director of the Trinity Centre for Ageing and Intellectual Disability, the Principal Investigator on IDS-TILDA, Director of the National Intellectual Disability Memory Service and is the Chair of Ageing and Intellectual Disability at Trinity College Dublin. She has previously been the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Professor McCarron is Policy and Service Advisor on Dementia to the Daughters of Charity Disability Support Service. She has published widely on the lived experience of people ageing with an intellectual disability, the prevalence of dementia among this population, and their palliative care needA leader in multidisciplinary health sciences, Professor McCarron is a committed ageing research leader at Trinity College and an international expert in the fields of intellectual disability, ageing, dementia, and palliative care.

Ms Evelyn Reilly, Candidate Advanced Nurse Practitioner; National Intellectual Disability Memory Service & Daughters of Charity Service

Evelyn is a Registered Nurse in Intellectual Disability Nursing (RNID) and has a particular interest in ageing, care of the older person with intellectual disability (ID), and promoting person centred care for people with dementia.  As one of the first Advance Nurse Practitioners in ID and Dementia, she manages the day-to-day operations of The National Intellectual Disability Memory Service (NIDMS) at Tallaght University Hospital and the Memory Clinic for the Daughters of Charity Disability Support Service.   She plays a lead role in assessing the symptoms of dementia, contributing to final diagnosis in consultation with other practitioners, offers post diagnostic supports to people with dementia and their family/carers; and offers training in dementia care to all levels of staff, family, and peers.   The focus of her work is frontline practice that supports quality of life outcomes for people with an Intellectual disability and dementia, as well as promoting active and healthy ageing for people with lifelong disability. She has contributed to various publications on intellectual disability and dementia and her research intersects across several key areas, with an overall focus on the understanding of people with ID & dementia and improving their care experience from diagnosis to end-of-life.

Ms Pamela Dunne, Clinical Nurse Specialist, National Intellectual Disability Memory Service & Daughters of Charity Services

Pamela Dunne CNSp, RNID, MSc, works in the Memory Clinic in the Daughters of Charity Disability Support Service providing an outreach service in Dublin, Limerick and Tipperary. She has 35 years experience working with children and adults with an intellectual disability (ID) in a variety of roles ranging from teaching, social and recreational to nursing.

In her current role as a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNSp) in dementia in intellectual disability she works closely with people with an ID, their families, the multi-disciplinary team and support staff in providing a comprehensive service offering baseline screening, dementia assessment and diagnosis and follow up care and supports for those diagnosed with dementia

Pamela's research interests include aging well with an intellectual disability and psycho-social approaches to care. Pamela has led out on an award winning project 'Creating Digital Life Stories using iPad technology' in the Daughters of Charity Disability Support Service. Pamela holds a Masters in Dementia from Trinity College Dublin and a P.Grad. Dip in Nursing-Advanced Practice ANP.

Dr Eimear McGlinchey, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing & Midwifery

Eimear's background is in Psychology and her primary area of interest is in the promotion and maintenance of brain health in people with an intellectual disability, with particular focus on the area of dementia in people with Down syndrome. Eimear's work in the area of dementia and Down syndrome includes investigating early biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease using neuroimaging, blood- based and cognitive biomarkers and is PI of the PREVENT dementia - DS project. This project is part of a collaborative international study with the Horizon 21 European Down syndrome Consortium. Dr McGlinchey is co-PI on a project that includes the voices of people with an intellectual disability in developing guidelines for post-diagnostic dementia support.

Eimear's work is based in the Trinity Centre for Ageing and Intellectual Disability and is research lead with the National Intellectual Disability Memory Service. Her other areas of interest include equity and inclusion as well as accessibility and innovative dissemination.

Eimear teaches on the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the school and provides supervision to undergraduate, masters and PhD students. She is Program Director for the Ageing Health and Wellbeing in Intellectual Disability MSc, the Dementia MSc, and the Community Health MSc in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. She has a number of publications and has disseminated widely through national and international conferences.