Online course

ADHD Awareness in Dementia Care

A course preview for care home staff. Six modules, practical scenarios and a short assessment. Allow 60 to 90 minutes, with breaks whenever you need them.

Course preview for feedback · September 2026

This is a free review copy. Anyone with this link can open it. No access key or payment is needed. Please use fictional examples throughout. This course is not accredited and does not assess clinical competence.

Leave feedback at any point · Your practice worksheet

Welcome

All residents in the learning scenarios are fictional composites. Examples are prompts to explore, not explanations of a real person. New or worsening symptoms require appropriate clinical assessment.

This course introduces the essentials of exploring lifelong preferences and possible ADHD-related experiences in dementia care. It is designed for all care home staff, from carers and nurses to housekeeping, kitchen and activities teams, because every role shapes a resident's day. Work through the six modules in order, answer the knowledge checks as you go, and pass a short final assessment to receive your preview completion record.

How to read the evidence

Research in adults with ADHD does not automatically establish what happens in older adults living with dementia. Community terms and lived experiences can help us ask questions, but they are not diagnostic criteria. Practical suggestions here must be agreed and reviewed for the individual.

Clinical boundaries: NICE ADHD guidance and NICE dementia guidance.

By the end of this course you will be able to
  • Explain why a lifelong history matters without assuming a diagnosis
  • Distinguish research findings, lived experience and possible care adjustments
  • Explore unmet needs while taking new or worsening symptoms seriously
  • Plan an individual adjustment and decide how to review it
  • Use the life-history reflection tool without treating it as an ADHD test

Your name and home go on your local preview record. They stay on this device and are never sent to ADHDementia. There is no account to create and no email address to give.

Research references supporting the course content

These references support the research-informed content used in the course. They are provided for quality assurance and course development and do not need to be read during normal learner progression.

Executive function and working memory

Boonstra et al. (2005), Executive functioning in adult ADHD: a meta-analytic review. Psychological Medicine, 35(8), 1097-1108. PMID: 16116936. Alderson et al. (2013), ADHD and working memory in adults: a meta-analytic review. Neuropsychology, 27(3), 287-302. PMID: 23688211.

Emotional dysregulation

Beheshti et al. (2020), Emotion dysregulation in adults with ADHD: a meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 20, 120. PMID: 32164655. Soler-Gutiérrez et al. (2023), Evidence of emotion dysregulation as a core symptom of adult ADHD: a systematic review. PLOS ONE, 18(1), e0280131. PMID: 36608036.

Sensory processing

Jurek et al. (2025), Sensory Processing in Individuals With ADHD Compared With Control Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 64(10), 1132-1147. PMID: 40250555. The review found higher sensory sensitivity, avoidance, seeking and low registration across ADHD samples.

Interoception

Bruton et al. (2025), Diminished Interoceptive Awareness in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review. Psychophysiology, 62(2), e14750. The evidence is emerging and mixed, so care implications should be framed as possibilities rather than universal ADHD traits.

Sleep

Díaz-Román, Mitchell & Cortese (2018), Sleep in adults with ADHD: systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioural Reviews, 89, 61-71. PMID: 29477617. Bijlenga/Kooij and colleagues also describe delayed circadian timing in subgroups of adults with ADHD; sleep history should be individualised.

Course overview

Modules unlock in order. You can leave at any time and your progress is saved on this device.

    Answer every knowledge check above to continue.

    Final assessment

    Show what you know

    Ten questions drawn from the whole course. You need 8 out of 10 to pass. You can retake the assessment as many times as you need.

    Congratulations!

    You have completed ADHD Awareness in Dementia Care. Print your preview record below, or save it as a PDF for your own reference.

    ADHDementia
    Preview completion record
    Name
    has completed the review version of
    "ADHD Awareness in Dementia Care"
    An educational course preview about life history and care preferences
    in older adults living with dementia
    Preview only. Not accredited. Not evidence of clinical competence.
    Kerry Billson, Founder, ADHDementia

    Tip: choose "Save as PDF" in the print window to keep a digital copy.

    Keep your preview record

    You can download a record of this preview for your own reference. It contains your name, home, date and score. It is not a verified training credential and is not imported into the live training matrix.

    No copy is held by ADHDementia. The record ID is a browser-generated checksum, not proof of identity, attendance or independent assessment.

    Tell Kerry how the preview worked for you

    Take the learning into a team discussion

    Use a fictional example during this preview. For a real resident, use your home's approved care records.

    1. What did the person say matters to them?
    2. What did you observe, and what remains uncertain?
    3. What is longstanding and what has changed?
    4. Is clinical advice or escalation needed?
    5. What adjustment will you agree together?
    6. Who will review it, when, and how will you hear the person's response?

    Open the printable worksheet

    Before you go, how was it?

    Feedback is optional and sent to Kerry through Netlify. You do not need to finish the course or give your name. Do not include resident names, identifying details or health information. Please describe unclear wording, anything that felt too certain, and anything that did not work. See the privacy policy for how feedback is handled.

    How your feedback is used