DLD: Dementia Questionnaire for People with Learning Disabilities Record Forms

The Dementia Questionnaire for People with Learning Disabilities (DLD) is an instrument designed for the assessment of early signs of dementia in adults with learning disabilities (developmental ages approximately 2 to 10 years). It helps detect cognitive and functional deterioration caused by dementia at an early stage, even when symptoms are difficult to identify in this population. This tool provides professional teams with a framework that facilitates screening and longitudinal monitoring of dementia progression and allows them to make informed decisions about diagnosis and support planning.

Benefits:

• Early Detection: Enables identification of dementia symptoms before functional deterioration becomes obvious.

• Cognitive and Social Assessment: Measures specific cognitive decline and functional/social deterioration linked to dementia.

• Reliable Scoring System: Simple linear scoring with three response categories for consistent assessment.

• Longitudinal Monitoring: Encourages routine baseline scoring for accurate tracking over time.

Key Features:

• Informant-Based Questionnaire: Contains 50 items across eight subscales evaluating memory, orientation, speech, practical skills, mood, activity, and behaviour.

• Sum of Cognitive Scores (SCS): Combined scores of short-term memory, long-term memory, and orientation for cognitive decline measurement.

• Sum of Social Scores (SOS): Combined scores of speech, practical skills, mood, activity, and behavioural disturbance for functional decline evaluation.

• Simple Scoring: Three-point response scale (0 = no deficit, 1 = moderate deficit, 2 = severe deficit) for ease of use.