Class Overviews

Early Stage

Unit One: "Overview of Memory Loss and Related Symptoms”
You and other participants will get to know each other. Information is provided about the medical aspects and causes of memory loss, the current state of research, and the need for diagnosis and drug treatments.

Unit Two: "Communication Strategies"
This class offers an overview of communication changes that are typical in early memory loss. Participants will learn the principles of maintaining communication with a person experiencing memory loss.

Unit Three: "Making Decisions"
Practical issues in everyday life are addressed, such as driving a car, handling health and financial decisions, and managing household tasks.

Unit Four: "Planning for the Future"
This class helps participants prepare for changes that are likely to occur over the course of a progressive memory disorder. Legal and financial planning and accessing community resources are described.

Unit Five: "Effective Ways of Coping and Caring"
This final class emphasizes the involvement of the person with memory loss in a variety of activities. Family members also can learn about ways to take care of themselves.

Middle, Late to Final Stage

Unit One: "The Middle, Late and Final Stages of Dementia"
Although technical in nature, this lesson will give you a foundation before moving on to the other lessons. We will cover these general topics and get into specifics along the way: How the brain functions, medical evaluation, symptoms and progression of memory loss, and current treatments for memory loss.

Unit Two: "Communication Skills"
One of the more frustrating and difficult aspects of memory loss is that the person's ability to communicate may be compromised. In this unit, we will discuss how to adapt to these changes.

Unit Three: "Meeting Physical Care Needs"
In this unit you will explore details about levels of assistance required for dressing, eating, dental care, bathing, and toileting. You will learn some useful tips for someone who needs help with these personal care activities.

Unit Four: "Understanding Challenging Behaviors"
Issues in understanding challenging behaviors such as: Types of behaviors, possible triggers for behaviors, and coping with behaviors.

Unit Five: "Making the Move from Home to Residential Care"

In this unit, types of challenging behaviors associated with middle and late stage dementia will be described. Possible reasons or "triggers" for such behaviors will be identified.

Unit Six: "End of Life Care"
This unit covers information regarding the last stage of dementia and end of life care.

Which Course is Right for you?

The quiz below will determine whether the Early Stage Online Course or Middle to Late Stage Online Course is more appropriate for you.

1. Has your family member been diagnosed with "mild cognitive impairment," "Alzheimer's Disease," or "dementia" by a physician?
Yes
No

2. Can the person manage his or her own personal care, including dressing, bathing, and toileting?
Yes
No

3. Can the person stay at home alone safely for a few hours?
Yes
No

4. Does the person generally have good language skills?
Yes
No

5. Does the person exhibit behavior changes such as wandering, hallucinations, delusions, or aggression?
Yes
No

6. Does the person live in a nursing home currently?
Yes
No

Contact

If you’re interested in bringing this innovative, evidence-based, online program to your workplace or registering as an individual student, please click here or contact:

Jon Woodall

Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging

1603 Orrington Avenue, Suite 1800

Evanston, IL 60201

Tel: (847) 492.6753

Fax: (847) 492.7513

jwoodall@matherlifeways.com