Facing Dementia Together – Practical Videos for People with Intellectual Disabilities

Did you know? While age is the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, lifestyle and health can also play a big part in building your brain's resilience.

Alzheimer's and other dementias affect people with intellectual disabilities at significantly higher rates and often at a younger age. On this World Alzheimer's Day, we came together to raise awareness, share knowledge, and highlight the importance of brain health for all.

Trinity Centre for Ageing and Intellectual Disability (TCAID) and Avista were proud to launch a series of practical videos created by the Memory Clinic in Avista for people with intellectual disabilities as part of a webinar to celebrate World Alzheimers Day.

This series of videos explores the modifiable risk factors for dementia and brain health — empowering people with lived experience, their families, and professionals to take proactive steps for brain resilience.

Featured topics include:

• Lowering Cholesterol – Supporting heart and brain health
• Understanding Obstructive Sleep Apnoea – A modifiable risk in brain ageing
• Hearing: Detect • Protect • Connect – The link between hearing and cognitive health

Watch the full webinar and video series below to learn how practical, evidence-based steps can support brain health, reduce risks, and promote resilience for people with intellectual disabilities.

The Memory Service at Avista provides Brain Health Checks and comprehensive dementia screening for adults with intellectual disabilities. Supporting brain health is not just about diagnosis — its about dignity, inclusion, and giving every person the tools to live well. This video series co-developed with people with lived experience of hearing impairment, obstructive sleep apnoea and hypercholesterolaemia was designed to raise awareness and provide practical strategies to address key modifiable risk factors for dementia.

Pamela Dunne, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Avista

To mark World Alzheimer’s Day, I was delighted to chair the webinar launching the new video series on modifiable factors, developed by AVISTA and building on the long-standing collaboration between TCAID and AVISTA. These videos are a fantastic resource for people with Down syndrome and their families. Thank you to all who joined us; the excellent turnout speaks to the importance of this topic for so many people.

Eimear McGlinchey, Assistant Professor in Intellectual Disability, Trinity College Dublin