Understanding Dementia: A Course for Relatives (Canvas net)

 Understanding Dementia: A Course for Relatives (Canvas net)
This is a course primarily meant for people who have a relative suffering from dementia or who suspect dementia in a relative. However, people working professionally in the field can also benefit from the course – especially by obtaining an understanding of the perspectives of the relative of a demented person.

The structure of the course follows the progression of the diseases of dementia – from the first suspicion of something being wrong to the fatal end.

The course will provide knowledge on the four most common types of dementia diseases: Alzheimer’s dementia, Multi Infarct dementia, Frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy Body dementia.

The course consists of five modules over 5 weeks. Each module deals with the following four perspectives on each disease:

1. Medical symptoms

2. How these appear in daily life

3. What can you do?

4. Being a relative

Each perspective in a section will contain two levels: one providing plain-language explanations of the subject with small film clips and simple exercises, the other allowing you to delve deeper into the subject with links to scientific literature and to works of art, e.g. movies and novels about what it is like to be the relative of a demented person.

The course will give you knowledge about:

- The medical symptoms of the four most common diseases of dementia and the course of the syndromes.

- How the diseases appear in everyday life from the beginning to the end.

- How to handle the problems met during the course of the illnesses.

- What the caregiver burden is.

- How to cope with the burden as a relative.

The course will have video lectures, small movies, exercises and links to scientific articles and works of art for those interested in delving deeper into the topics covered. Also, you will engage with other participants via activities in discussion forums, just as there will be a Twitter account and a Facebook group associated with the course.

A certificate of completion will be available to those who meet the requirements of the course.