A Calm Mind Caregiving course

The Connected Caregiver: Dementia & Alzheimer's Care at Home

Turn science into peace, for you and your loved one.

How educational neuroscience and ABA strategies transform dementia and Alzheimer's caregiving.

6 modules. 18 lessons. Self-paced, with an AI coach in your corner. · Taught by Jennifer Phelps, MS, BCBA

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What you are experiencing is not a failure of love or patience. It is a failure of information. Nobody gave you a manual. This course is that manual, taught clearly and compassionately to the people who need it most.

What you'll learn

Small, specific skills. Real moments at home.

You'll be able toUnderstand that dementia is brain change, not stubbornness or choice
You'll be able toKnow where Alzheimer's fits among the common types of dementia
You'll be able toConnect the brain changes to the behaviors you see every day
You'll be able toLearn the few brain ideas that change everything about how you respond
You'll be able toUnderstand co-regulation: why your nervous system becomes theirs
You'll be able toUse one neuroscience-grounded move in your next hard moment
You'll be able toLearn what the brain loses early and what it keeps far longer
You'll be able toUnderstand why feelings outlast facts
You'll be able toBegin building care around preserved strengths, not lost ones

The curriculum

Six modules. Nineteen short lessons.

Module 1

The Dementia Brain: What's Actually Happening Inside

Before you can respond skillfully, you need to understand why your person behaves the way they do. This module translates the neuroscience into plain language, so frustration turns into clarity. You leave with a mental model of the dementia brain that anchors every strategy in the course.

1.1How Dementia and Alzheimer's Physically Change the Brain
1.2Neuroscience Essentials for Dementia Caregiving
1.3Memory, Emotion, and What Stays Intact
1.4Stages of Decline: Calibrating Your Expectations Over Time

Module 2

ABA Essentials for Dementia Caregiving

Applied Behavior Analysis gives you a structured, evidence based way to understand and respond to difficult behavior. This module makes ABA immediately practical, with no clinical background required. You learn to read what behavior is communicating and to change the situation rather than the person.

2.1The ABC Framework: Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence
2.2Identifying Triggers and Preventing Escalation
2.3Redirection, Reinforcement, and Dignified De-escalation

Module 3

Designing a Dementia-Friendly Home Environment

The physical environment is one of the most powerful and most overlooked tools in dementia care. This module applies neuroscience-backed design to the real rooms you live in, reducing sensory overload, preventing confusion, and engineering calm into everyday surroundings.

3.1How the Dementia Brain Processes Sensory Input
3.2Room-by-Room Environmental Modifications
3.3Safety Without Sterility: Preserving Autonomy and Dignity

Module 4

Building Routines That Create Calm

A predictable routine is not a luxury in dementia care. It is medicine. This module helps you design daily routines grounded in the brain's need for rhythm and safety, creating the predictability a dementia-affected brain depends on to function at its best.

4.1Why Predictability Is a Neurological Need, Not a Preference
4.2Designing a Daily Routine That Works for Both of You
4.3Meaningful Activity: Engagement That Matches the Brain

Module 5

Communication That Actually Reaches Your Loved One

Language and logic fade in dementia, but emotion and connection do not. This module gives you a specific, validated communication toolkit that meets the dementia brain where it actually is, reducing daily friction and rebuilding moments of genuine connection.

5.1How Dementia Changes Communication, and What That Means for You
5.2Validation and Emotion-First Communication
5.3Handling Repetition, Resistance, and Difficult Conversations

Module 6

Sustaining Yourself: Preventing Burnout for the Long Haul

Caregiving is a marathon, not a sprint, and your health is not separate from the quality of care you give. This final module helps you honestly assess your wellbeing, recognize burnout before crisis, and build a self-care practice that is realistic, guilt-free, and sustainable.

6.1Understanding Caregiver Burnout: Signs, Science, and Stigma
6.2Building a Realistic, Guilt-Free Self-Care Practice
6.3Building Your Support Network and Knowing When to Ask for Help

Who this is for

Written for the people who need it most.

The spouse who is exhausted and quietly grieving the partner still here.
The adult child suddenly responsible for a parent's care, with no training.
The long-distance caregiver coordinating from afar and second-guessing every choice.
The professional caregiver who wants science-backed tools, not platitudes.
Anyone who has whispered: "I love them, and I don't know how to do this."

A note from your teacher

"Every lesson leaves you with one thing you can use today, the feeling of being truly understood, and a little more confidence that you can do this."

— Jennifer Phelps, MS, BCBA

Questions

Honest answers.

Is this a replacement for talking to my doctor?+

No. This course is education and support. It works alongside your loved one's doctors and qualified professionals — never instead of them.

How much time will it take?+

Each lesson is short — about 10 to 15 minutes of reading, plus an action you can use that same day. Move at your own pace.

What if my person has a type of dementia other than Alzheimer's?+

The heart of this course — neuroscience, ABA, communication, environment, routine, and self-care — applies across the common forms of dementia.

How does the AI coach work?+

On every lesson, you'll find a private chat where you can describe your specific person and your specific hard moment. The coach is grounded in that lesson's content and the principles of this course.

Can I share this with another family member?+

Yes. We hope you do. Caregiving is rarely one person's job, and a shared language makes the team stronger.

You can do this. Let us help.

Start with Lesson 1.1. One small thing you can use today.

Start the course

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