Dementia
People with a learning disability are more at risk of developing dementia – particularly people with Down’s syndrome.
When someone has dementia their brain slowly stops working. This causes:
Problems with thinking clearly.
Changes to how they feel and act.
Problems doing normal activities.
There are different types of dementia. The most common types are:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Vascular dementia.
Dementia is most common in people over the age of 65.
Often people with a learning disability develop young-onset dementia, which is dementia in a person under 65-years-old.