Welcome — and a few honest framings first
Dementia is a brain disease (or a family of them: Alzheimer's, vascular, Lewy body, frontotemporal, mixed). It's progressive. There is no cure. AND — the caregiver matters more here than in almost any other condition. Communication, environment, comorbidity control, and caregiver wellness directly shape your loved one's quality of life and the trajectory of decline. This course teaches what you need to know.
7-question Caregiver Readiness Self-Check (pre)
Same items pre and post. The lift is the proof of what this course gave you.
Your Loved One's Care Team
Click any name to edit. Dementia care typically involves more roles than other conditions — primary care, neurology or geriatrics, social work, and (often) a memory clinic.
Caregiver Burden Tracker
Dementia caregivers carry the highest burden scores in the literature. Track weekly. Use the numbers to call respite ahead of crisis.
This week's snapshot
The 10 modules
Click any module to open Learn It / Live It / Share It / Knowledge Check tabs. Same 5-question quiz pre and post in each module.
Chapter 1 · The Disease and the Skills
Chapter 2 · Day-to-Day Management
Chapter 3 · The Long Arc
Day 30 — Caregiver Readiness Self-Check (post)
Same 7 questions. Compare to baseline.
Day 30 Self-Check
Honest answers. Lift is what we celebrate.
Force Field "When to Call" Card — Dementia Edition
Print. Stick on the fridge. Photograph. Dementia-specific because delirium, sudden agitation, and BPSD escalations have their own decision trees.
911 if right now:
Sudden severe agitation with safety threat (to self or others) · Suicidal statements with means · Stroke signs (FAST) · Chest pain · Trouble breathing · Loss of consciousness · Bleeding that won't stop · Hot or cold to touch with confusion (hyperthermia/hypothermia).
Same-day clinic call if:
SUDDEN worsening of confusion (delirium) — think UTI, pneumonia, dehydration, new med · Falls (any fall) · Refusing food/water > 24 h · Sundowning getting worse · Wandering attempt · New hallucinations or paranoia · Caregiver feels unsafe.
Memory clinic / specialist call this week if:
Persistent BPSD that DICE framework hasn't resolved · Driving safety in question · Sleep cycle inverted (up all night) · Caregiver burden Zarit ≥ 41.
Where to go next
Pair this course with the Skills Lab artifacts — Dementia Communication and Medication Management are nearly mandatory; Safe Transfers and Fall Prevention become essential as the disease advances.
Dementia Communication
Validate, redirect, dialogues for wandering, paranoia, sundowning, refusal.
Medication Management
Anticholinergic burden, antipsychotic risk in DLB, missed-dose protocols.
Safe Transfers
Sit-stand, pivot, gait belt. Critical as mobility declines.
Fall Prevention at Home
Walk-through, top-10 mods, after-fall protocol.
Patient Dementia Course
For early-stage dementia when your loved one can still learn alongside you.
Patient Alzheimer's Course
Alzheimer's-specific deep dive.
First 30 Days
If you're brand new to caregiving, start here first.
Caregiver Hub
All caregiver artifacts.