This is from today's New York Times. A free online class on dementia. It might be a good source of information for those who are just beginning their journey. It might give added information to those of us who have been stuck here a while. OR It might just be a way to pass the time while sitting at your computer when you have nothing else to do.
The class itself can be found here: https://www.coursera.org/#course/dementiacare Jim
Online Lessons in Dementia Management By JUDITH GRAHAM
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
What kinds of activities are available to help someone with dementia remain engaged and active in the community? Which professionals can comprehensively assess a family’s situation and suggest solutions? Who can help caregivers when a loved one who’s cognitively challenged and depressed meets every suggestion with apathy or resistance?
Good luck getting guidance. “You are on your own to figure out what is needed and how to put a plan together in a meaningful way,” said Laura N. Gitlin, professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “It is a huge challenge.”
Dr. Gitlin is an expert on “person-centered” care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and the originator of a massive open online course (M.O.O.C.) on this condition, which will be offered for five weeks starting in mid-October. You can sign up now.
It’s a class offered over the Internet, to anyone in the world who wants to sign up. Instead of sitting in classrooms, students watch video lectures and often participate in online chat rooms.
The course offered by Dr. Gitlin and her collaborator, Nancy Hodgson, an assistant professor at the School of Nursing at Johns Hopkins, is free to anyone who wants to enroll. Dr. Gitlin and Ms. Hodgson expect about 20,000 people worldwide to do so, reflecting the concern internationally over Alzheimer’s.
“The point is to help people understand Alzheimer’s disease from a comprehensive perspective that encompasses not only its medical implications but social, psychological and environmental considerations,” Dr. Gitlin told me in an interview.
She’s especially focused on what she calls the “lived experience” of people with dementia. Caregivers and professionals “need to know about the different stages of this disease and how a person is functioning during these stages in their home, their family and their community,” she said. Only then does it become possible “to develop a supportive environment that allows the person to use the capabilities he or she still has.”
That’s what person-centered care is all about. Instead of dwelling on the losses suffered by someone with dementia — the things they can’t do any longer, the ways in which they are diminished — it means appreciating that “a person’s sense of dignity, of purpose, of needing and wanting a role remains intact almost to the very end,” Dr. Gitlin said.
We often forget this, because people with dementia often aren’t able to express it.
Recognizing that people won’t sit through long online lectures, Dr. Gitlin and Ms. Hodgson have broken each class into 15- or 20-minute segments. Some will be Oprah Winfrey-style sessions with one of the doctors questioning a colleague from Johns Hopkins with expertise in a subject area — including Dr. Peter V. Rabins, an author of “The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for Persons With Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Loss in Later Life.” He will talk about assessing caregivers’ needs in the second week of the course, beginning Oct. 21.
Week 4 might be especially interesting to caregivers who aren’t sure how to deal with Alzheimer’s patients who are agitated, aggressive, apathetic, irritable, delusional, disruptive or emotionally distraught. Dr. Gitlin is developing non-pharmacologic interventions to treat troublesome behavioral symptoms and participated in writing an important paper on this topic, published in JAMA late last year.
Homework assignments will ask students to explore dementia trends in their region and evaluate case studies. Before the course, students will be asked to take a “myth-buster” test to confront and correct whatever biases they might have about dementia, Ms. Hodgson said.
After the course, Johns Hopkins will offer a series of Web-based seminars to caregivers and health professionals following up in more detail on the issues raised. Potential topics include safety in the home, activities for people with dementia and end-of-life care.
This effort to educate a worldwide audience about Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia is worth watching. Please let us know here if you learn about any similar efforts that might be of interest.
I was on a committee at Hopkins with other caregivers several years ago and Dr. Gitlin's hiring by that institution was greeted with much fanfare. She is a well-known expert in the field of dementia; I would imagine that any project she's involved in would have value. I've heard Dr. Rabins speak at several conferences and he's right on the money--knows his stuff. He has retired from seeing patients but is still involved in the AD world.
For those who may not check email often, the course officially begins on October 14th, but there's a request to view the welcome video and to take a non-graded myth buster quiz before the course officially begins.
So I signed up and did the first week course. Missed four on the pre-course quiz, only missed one on the course quiz. Seems I might know a little about dementia of the Alzheimers type already.
Jim, if you are taking the course, can you help me with the peer assignment? I'm not understanding what it is I'm supposed to be doing. Am I writing something? I think I missed figuring out an assignment.
Hi Jules, I'm taking the course too and seem to be tracking right along with you...missed 4 on the pre-course quiz and 1 on the first quiz. Have not yet done this weeks assignment but If I figure out the peer assignment I'll let you know. Of course I too would welcome any input from Jim.
yes Marilyn it is. I've been taking the course and it has been quite informative, but when you've been caring for someone with dementia for many years (we're 5+ now) I think much of the learning is intuitive because you've been in the trenches. Having said that, the lectures are good and so are the reading materials. I've enjoyed the course and have surprised myself at how much I know. It's been awhile since I did anything academic (although I was constantly taking seminars to update my skills when I was working) but that was 5 years ago. Always good to learn something new and reaffirm your skills. A real confidence boost when you score well on the quizzes and a good reminder of some techniques to reinforce or employ during the daily struggles of caregiving. I am very glad I chose to participate.
Johns Hopkins is not only a premier university but an center of excellence in dementia management, treatment and research. It's been valuable for me on many levels (like doing something for me).
This is the last week of the course. As I said above, I have found it to be valuable and informative. Some of the material is good in theory (interprofessional teams) but not yet a reality for most people/families dealing with dementia. All in all I am gad to have participated. Looking forward to learning more!
LFL, I am glad that you were able to continue with the course. I started the course, but regretfully couldn't complete it do to unforeseen circumstances. I hope, in the near future, it will be offered again as we can't learn enough about the disease.
I enjoyed the class very much and plan on continuing as they offer more. I didn't write the paper (lazy) but did the quizzes and read the discussion boards. My favorite was the ten questions video, very good.