(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association is launching a series of free online courses today (Thursday) that are designed to help families that are facing the disease or dementia. Chapter spokeswoman Lauren Livingston says the virtual classes will run most Thursday mornings through June. “It’ll start with a five-part series called The Empowered Caregiver, which teaches caregivers how to navigate the responsibilities of care giving for someone living with the disease through the different stages — early, mid and later stages,” Livingston says. “And then we’ll get into some more topics for people who are interested in brain health and the basics of the disease.” She says the courses aim to help families better understand what to expect so they can be prepared to meet the changes and challenges ahead.

“There’ll be a really good program on managing money, a Caregiver’s Guide to Finances, which is a topic that not a lot of people really think about when they think of care giving,” Livingston says, “but that’s a big part of it, having to take over some of the legal and financial responsibilities for someone.” More than seven-million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, including over 62-thousand in Iowa. Also, more than 11-million family members and friends are serving as caregivers, including over 80-thousand in Iowa. Care giving, she says, can be exceptionally difficult, and the courses can be a big help.

“As they get to those mid and later stages, it can be a little confusing and stressful on how to communicate effectively with the person with the disease, because that changes over time,” Livingston says, “and also understanding some of those changes in behaviors that tend to happen as they progress in the disease, and understanding that and how to respond in the right way that will keep the stress levels down for everyone.”

The courses begin at 11 A-M via Zoom and will continue most Thursdays through June 18th. They’re free to anyone and registration is only required the first time you log in — at alz.org/iowa.