WAJD Learning

Specialist practice · Level 2 to 3, all staff supporting people with dementia

Dementia care that works

Distress is communication. This course teaches you to read it instead of medicating it.

  • 2modules
  • 3.5CPD hours
  • 100guided minutes
  • Freealways

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About this course

Most dementia training teaches the types of dementia and stops. That is the least useful part. What changes a shift is understanding that distressed behaviour is communication, and learning to find the unmet need underneath it.

This course covers the main types and what each one actually does to a person, the distinction between delirium and dementia, non pharmacological approaches that have evidence behind them, and the serious problem of antipsychotic prescribing in dementia.

It is built on one clinical principle: before behaviour is managed, pain, infection, constipation, sensory loss and unmet need are excluded. That principle prevents more harm than any technique in this course.

What you will be able to do

  • Describe the main types of dementia and their characteristic effects
  • Distinguish delirium from dementia and escalate appropriately
  • Interpret distressed behaviour as communication of unmet need
  • Explain the risks of antipsychotics in dementia and the alternatives

Modules

  1. 1 Types, delirium, and reading distress as communication 55 min study · 5 min script · 4 question knowledge check
  2. 2 Communication, the environment, and the family 45 min study · 4 min script · 4 question knowledge check

Assessment and certificate

Knowledge check at 80 per cent with unlimited attempts.

A free digital certificate showing 2.5 CPD hours with a verification code.

Questions

Should I correct someone who believes something untrue?

Usually not. Repeated correction causes fresh grief each time, and actively lying damages trust. Respond to the feeling underneath the belief. If someone says they must go home because their mother is waiting, the feeling is being needed and anxious, and that is what you can help with.

Why is it so important to know if someone has Lewy body dementia?

Because people with Lewy body dementia can have severe, sometimes life threatening reactions to antipsychotic medication. It is one of the most important pieces of information in the whole of dementia care.