Amy Shaw, PA
Guiding Family Caregivers with Expertise and Compassion
"One of the most comforting things Amy does is listen. She took the time to understand the complex issues we were facing, cared deeply about our experience, and kept us informed every step of the way."
– Family Caregiver
Amy Shaw, PA-C
Dementia Clinician | Author | Founder of Better Dementia™
Amy Shaw, PA-C, is a nationally recognized dementia clinician and educator who has guided more than 700 families through the dementia journey. She is known for transforming overwhelming, confusing situations into clear, manageable understanding—helping caregivers move forward with confidence, clarity, and calm.
Her work is grounded in a simple belief:
Caregivers do better when they understand what is happening—and what to expect next.
With more than a decade of experience in geriatrics, hospice, and cognitive disorders, Amy provides expert dementia education and consulting to families nationwide. Her approach blends deep clinical knowledge with practical, compassionate guidance—helping caregivers understand how dementia changes the brain, why behaviors shift, and how to respond in ways that preserve dignity at every stage of the disease.
Empowering caregivers with the knowledge and support to navigate dementia with confidence and compassion.
Author and Educator
Amy is the author of The Arc of Conversation: A How-to Guide for Goals of Care Conversations (Springer, 2025), a practical guide to effective goals-of-care and end-of-life discussions used by clinicians and educators.
She is currently writing her next book, Better Dementia: From Overwhelmed to Empowered (publishing 2027), which brings her dementia caregiving framework directly to families navigating the disease.
Amy's Path to Dementia Expertise
Amy’s work is shaped by a unique combination of scientific study, clinical training, and years of guiding families through emotionally complex moments. Each chapter of her path informs how she understands dementia—and how she teaches caregivers to navigate it with steadiness and clarity.
Early foundations in cognition and development
Amy studied primate cognition and child development at Emory University, conducting research in Uganda and Puerto Rico. This early focus on behavior and neurocognitive development laid the groundwork for how she understands learning, adaptation, and the brain’s response to change across the lifespan.
Learning how families cope under pressure
Before entering medicine, Amy founded and ran a successful wedding photography business. Supporting families during high-stress, emotionally charged moments taught her how to remain calm, observant, and deeply attuned to what people need when it matters most—skills she now brings to every caregiver conversation.
Clinical training and specialization
Amy trained as a physician assistant with a focus on chronic illness, geriatrics, and patient-centered care. Early in her clinical work, she saw families struggling with dementia—not because they lacked dedication, but because they lacked clear, accessible explanations of what was happening in the brain and how care needs change over time.
Determined to close that gap, Amy focused her work on dementia care and education, eventually building the first comprehensive dementia care program in Wyoming. Over the course of her career, she has guided hundreds of patients and families through diagnosis, progression, decision-making, and end-of-life care.
Better Dementia™: A National Platform for Caregiver Support
Amy founded BetterDementia.com to make clinically grounded, expert-level dementia education accessible to families everywhere.
Better Dementia brings together education, guidance, and support designed to help caregivers understand what is happening in the brain, anticipate changes over time, and respond with skill and dignity.
The work includes:
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Personalized dementia consulting for families nationwide
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A self-paced digital learning experience for caregivers who want to build understanding at their own pace
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Clear teaching on dementia stages, behavior, communication, and psychiatric symptoms
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Practical resources that help families caregive with competence, clarity, and calm
Better Dementia is designed to meet caregivers where they are — whether they are just beginning to seek understanding or navigating complex decisions later in the journey.
If You Are Navigating Dementia Caregiving
Caring for someone with dementia raises complex questions, difficult decisions, and moments of uncertainty. Amy’s work is focused on helping families understand what is happening, what to expect next, and how to respond with clarity and confidence as the journey unfolds.
If you would like support, you are welcome to reach out.
“Amy’s patience, knowledge, and compassion were a blessing during an incredibly difficult time. Her education helped me feel prepared, supported, and not taken by surprise at each step.”
— Family Caregiver
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