Free Dementia Training Materials to Get You Started
Most of us find it overwhelming when a loved one is diagnosed with dementia—or we suspect that they might be. We’ve put together this list of free dementia care resources to help you find support for yourself and keep your loved one home as long as possible. With support, you can provide dementia care at home and delay the need for costly memory care.
How to help someone with dementia
You can experience many more happy times together. Dementia is not an ending; it’s a road that takes you into new terrain and requires that you learn some new skills. You needn’t lose your loved one to dementia if you understand the strengths they’ll keep and how to preserve communication and understanding.
Listen to Judy Cornish’s TEDx talk as she explains how understanding the skills we lose to dementia allows us to provide kinder, person-centered dementia care at home.
Not seeing a video below? Either click the little “lock” symbol in the bottom left corner of this window (or the link in the website footer) to open and change your privacy settings (scroll down and turn on “Experience” cookies) OR visit Judy’s TEDx talk at Ted.com: “The Dawn of Dementia Care”.
Sign up for our newsletter (we’ll send you one article each month) and get our free 3 Video Series–“Preparing for Dementia” (45 minutes total).
Sign up for Newsletter & Free Video SeriesArticles about dementia care
Explore our blog topics for helpful tips about how you can recognize the strengths your loved one will not lose so you can provide dementia care and support that truly meets your loved one’s needs.
Popular DAWN blog articles:
- Dementia and the telephone
- How should I respond when they don’t make sense?
- Mean dementia—dementia and being mean to family
- Dementia and not recognizing spouse or family
- Dementia and the calendar
- Dementia behaviors aren’t the problem, it’s the emotions that cause them
- Shaping the mood in dementia
- There is a roadmap for living with dementia
- Mindfulness and dementia–living in the intuitive world
- How to enable choice, not restrict it
- Let’s talk about ABILITIES and dementia
Videos / Online Classes / Podcasts
Enjoy Craig Wilmann’s 10-minute audio short story, written from the point of view of a person experiencing dementia. Craig is the director at The Leaders Council, Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. [Episode 5 titled, “Silly Old Trick” ]
The DAWN YouTube Channel – free video webinars and interviews (more videos coming–click the bell in YouTube to be notified). Here is a sample video:
Not seeing a video below? Either click the little “lock” symbol in the bottom left corner of this window (or the link in the website footer) to open and change your privacy settings (scroll down in the privacy popup window and turn on “Experience” cookies) OR visit our sample video, “Dementia or Normal Aging” on our YouTube channel.
The DAWN DementiaCoach™ Classes – we can’t offer this for free (because we have to pay our DAWN Trainers, but it’s the cheapest way forward in the long run.
The DAWN Dementia Podcast Guide – a list of some of our favorite podcasts for caregivers as well as podcast interviews with Judy Cornish about the DAWN Method of dementia care.
Seek Support
Providing care for a loved one with dementia can be exhausting as well as isolating. If at all possible, don’t do it alone.
Research what help is available in your area. Seek out a local support group if one exists or start one of your own. Ask friends and family for help and contact organizations in your area. You might explore the other dementia related resources below.
Dementia support groups and the online dementia caregiver community
- Memory Café Directory
- Daughterhood Circles care partner support groups
- Lori La Bey’s Alzheimer’s Speaks Podcast
- Rosanne Corcoran’s Daughterhood, The Podcast
- Trish Laub’s A Cup of Comfort™ podcast: Interview with Judy Cornish of The DAWN Method, keeping those living with dementia at home longer
- Richard Creighton’s Living With Alzheimer’s blog: A real-time account of dementia caregiving shared with the world
- The Military Veteran Caregiver Network (“MVCN”; part of the Red Cross) helps caregivers of all eras and stages of caregiving by providing access to three peer support programs:
- Online Peer Support Community
- Peer Mentor Support Program
- Peer Support Groups (Online & Community-Based)
Other dementia-related resources
- Sociavi.com for a C2M (Connect 2 Me) monitor and dementia app that allows you to simply and securely connect to/communicate with someone experiencing dementia
- After Cloud multimedia and photo history app for saving precious memories securely
- Brittany Lamb, MD (ER doctor and educator) – Courses and coaching for family caregivers on medical decision making for dementia patients
- NAELA (National Association of Elder Law Attorneys) – Best source for an elder law attorney near you
- Nursing Home Abuse Justice – Legal help for suspected nursing home abuse
- Great article at Kiplinger magazine (by Ella Vincent) about the High Costs of Senior Caregiving (packed with links to multiple programs, resources and studies that would be of interest to family caregivers)
