Welcome to The NTG
The NTG is a not-for-profit organization charged with ensuring that the interests of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia - as well as their families and friends – are taken into account.
Our mission is to advocate for services and supports for people with intellectual disability who are affected by Alzheimer’s disease and dementias and for their families.
Confrères
NTG Events and News
Next IDD & Dementia Workshop - Harrisburg, PA
Tuesday & Wednesday (+Thursday)
July 16th/17th (& 18th trainers day), 2024
For more information click here
Webinar Series for Families... on Aging, Dementia, & ID
NTG Family
Webinar Series
Session 1: The Aging Process
Session 2: Early Screening for Cognitive Changes
Session 3: Life Planning for Phases of the Life Journey
Session 4: Behavioral Changes Occurring with Dementia
Session 5: Family Panel - Sharing Personal Experiences
The NTG's Family Support Program provides a twice yearly informative webinar series on dementia and intellectual disabilities. The series provides key information for families, people with intellectual disability, and others within their support networks concerned about aging/dementia.
The webinars are offered at no cost.
Information about our Fall series will be posted by mid-Summer.
Breaking News!!!!
The NTG has been awarded a grant to provide training/education
and technical assistance on intellectual disability and dementia in alignment with CMS' new GUIDE Model initiative.
For more information...
NTG and LuMind IDSC Issue Advisory on Prescribing Criteria for Alzheimer's Therapeutics and Publish Report in Journal
The NTG, the LuMind IDSC Foundation, and an international blue ribbon expert panel produced an advisory on adapting drug formulary committed criteria by States so that adults with Down syndrome (and other intellectual disabilities) can be prescribed FDA approved Alzheimer's disease anti-amyloid immunotherapeutics, once they are authorized for use by adults with Down syndrome. A synopsis of the Panel's report has now been published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
Project ECHO Series on Dementia and Intellectual Disability
Huzzah! The NTG and URI/VCU have now completed our 8the series of ECHO programs on topics related to intellectual disability and dementia. The latest, which began on April 22nd is now over. Our ECHO series is offered twice a year, is free, and is a practical, case-based /education program for health and social care providers who want to enhance their knowledge, capabilities, and performance related to the care of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities affected by dementia.
We are now working hard to create the Fall ECHO program which will run October-November 2024. Stay tuned for information on the Fall 2023 series! The ECHO partners have also issued a look-back at the past four years of their program. Information on the look-back and the '24 Spring series can be found on the ECHO page. Registration for the Fall series will open in September.
The Gerontological Society of America and the NTG have Created a 'Companion' on Intellectual Disability and Dementia to its KAER Toolkit
The NTG, provider organizations in Ohio, and the GSA collaborated on producing a Companion to the GSA's renown KAER Toolkit. The new Companion, previewed at the GSA's November 2023 Conference in Tampa FL, specifically focuses on issues relevant to intellectual disability and dementia, providing guidance for health workers, support personnel, and caregivers. The Companion is now available via the GSA website. To access the KAER Companion on Intellectual Disability and Dementia, click on More Info >
NTG Joins the Lumind IDSC Foundation in DS-AD Staging Consensus Project Paralleling the AA/NIA's Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Staging Criteria
The National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association (NIA-AA) draft diagnostic criteria on diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease issued at the 2023 AAIC Conference in Amsterdam, NL, have now been updated. The criteria address diagnosing, via biomarkers, Alzheimer's disease in adults, including Down syndrome. To see an Explainer. The updated version has been published in Alzheimer's & Dementia; it was originally released at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) conference in October 2023. Comments on Down syndrome were included in the new iteration. (To see Nov. 16th submission.) The new Lumind/NTG Project will examine the concordance of the criteria applications for adults with Down syndrome to the new AA Criteria.
NTG Issues Advisory on Settings Rule and Dementia Housing
The NTG has issued a public policy advisory on applications of the CMS 'Settings Rule; with applications to community-based housing for adults with intellectual disability living with dementia. The advisory covers that adaptations agencies could use to provide HCBS supports in small dementia capable group homes and designing person-centered care plans.
NTG Issues Advisory on Over-medication
The NTG, jointly with the Health Matters Program at the University of Illinois Chicago, issued an advisory on risk reduction and brain health by moderating over-medication among adults with intellectual disability. The advisory, designed to promote healthy brain outcomes, recognizes that over-medicating can have negative effects on physical and brain health, as well as potentially can increase the risk for mild cognitive impairment or dementia. The information provided is intended to lead to a constructive scrutiny of medication use, avoid “medication harm’, and result in positive health outcomes.
NTG Welcomes the Support of the Peter J. Taylor Charitable Trust
The NTG is pleased to recognize the generous support of the Peter J. Taylor Charitable Trust in support of its family assistance and information efforts. New initiatives are underway to expand our focus on supporting families, which include maintaining an on-line monthly support group for caregivers, a new series of informative webinars, and increased involvement in producing family-friendly materials.
ID & Dementia Project in Texas Expands Activities!
The NTG has partnered with the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to undertake a five-year project funded by the Texas Council on Developmental Disabilities to expand awareness and services for adults with intellectual disability living with dementia. The Project is also working with Texas' First Responders on a series of trainings. See the project website for current and pending events and activities.
International Summit on ID and Dementia and the NTG Issue Seminal Report on Autism and Dementia
The NTG was a partner in the 2nd International Summit on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia, held on October 24-25, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario Canada. The Summit was part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Reena Organization. A report on autism and dementia has been issue by the Summit Secretariat; other reports will be forthcoming. The NTG is the host for the International ID and Dementia Summit Secretariat.
Dr. Kathleen Bishop, NTG's Vice President, Offers Public Comments to Federal NAPA Advisory Council
The NTG's Vice President, Dr. Kathleen Bishop, offered comments to the federal Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services on the NTG's collaborative effort with the National Association for Direct Support Professionals of our collective model for acknowledging educational capabilities on dementia and intellectual disability via the NADSP's e-Badge Academy. She spoke to the need for increasing educational and training opportunities for direct support personnel who are working in settings serving adults with intellectual disability affected by dementia.
NTG Board Member, Prof. Christina Marsack-Topolewski Recognized for Advocacy Efforts in Michigan
The Arc of Oakland County Michigan awarded Eastern Michigan University professor, Dr. Christina Marsack-Topolewski, a NTG Board member, the Advocacy Hall of Fame Award. Dr. Marsack-Topolewski was recognized for five years of community service work supporting a new state law to protect vulnerable adults with disabilities against online predation.
Upcoming Trainings and Workshops
NTG Training & Education
The NTG offers training workshops on intellectual disability and dementia, in the US and Canada. These renowned workshops are based on the NTG's evidence-informed curriculum modules on various topics related to intellectual disability and dementia.
NTG's ECHO education series is a free, practical, case-based education program for health care and social service providers who want to enhance their knowledge, capabilities, and performance related to the care of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities affected by dementia.
NTG Family Support
The NTG is committed to family caregivers, as well as direct service professionals, who support individuals with intellectual disability and dementia. We recognize that many family members provide direct, day-to-day care to their loved one, while others are involved indirectly. No matter how you provide care, the work we do is in support of all family caregivers.
The NTG offers a free monthly online support group for family members caring for an adult relative with ID and dementia. The support group meets the first Thursday of the month at 8 pm Eastern Time.
NTG Training & Education
Publications Library
Looking for information on dementia and various conditions, such as autism or cerebral palsy? What about regression syndrome and Down syndrome?
We maintain information pages, offering summaries of recent research, covering these and other related topics. Go to our full library to filter into categories that interest you.
Featured Publications
click on image to open PDF
My Thinker's Not Working
Resource document
Physician's Quick Guide for Using the NTG-EDSD
Resource document
Examining Adults with Neuroatypical Conditions for MCI/Dementia During Cognitive Impairment Assessments: Report of the Neuroatypical Conditions Expert Consultative Panel
Resource document
FAQ on Dementia and ID
Resource document
Community Care and Supports for People with Intellectual Disabilities Affected by Dementia
Resource document
Bibliography on Dementia Care Management and Intellectual Disability
Working bibliography
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NTG members receive exclusive benefits, including:
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discounted registration for workshops & webinars
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networking opportunities
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free informational services
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leadership opportunities
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corporate travel discounts
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access to HELEN:Human Exceptionality journal
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