[Living situation of mentally disabled people with dementia in institutions for the disabled: results of a questionnaire in Lower Saxony and Bremen].

No empirical data about the topic "Mental Disability and Dementia" in Germany exist. The aim of this survey was to obtain current data about mentally disabled people with dementia. Therefore, the following questions need to be clarified: how many mentally disabled people are affected with dementia, which difficulties occur regarding the diagnosis of dementia and what challenges have to be solved in upcoming years. In all, 45 organisations for the mentally disabled took part in the survey, showing that dementia amongst people with mental disabilities appeared largely starting at the age of 50. Standardized diagnostics are seldom used by these organisations. Instead, observation of behaviour by care attendants plays a central role, due to the fact that speaking and introspection are not possible for a majority of the patients. In general, institutions for people with mental disabilities do not have specific offers for people with dementia, occasionally there are offers regarding their living situation and free time activities.