The Golisano Foundation in Rochester will fund a pilot program to train providers serving older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) on how to care for those with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. The grant in the amount of $100,000 will be implemented over the next two years by two chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association, Rochester & Finger Lakes and Western New York.
An estimated 400,000 New Yorkers live with Alzheimer’s dementia. By 2025, this number is expected to increase by 15 percent. Studies show that the prevalence of dementia among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities appears to be about the same as in the general population. However, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia is higher among adults with Down syndrome. An estimated 30 percent of people with Down syndrome in their 50s have Alzheimer’s and 60 percent will develop Alzheimer’s in their lifetime. In the 17 Upstate New York counties served by the two chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association, 6,708 adults aged 50 and older live with intellectual and developmental disabilities.