Better Dementia® trains your whole staff to understand why dementia changes behavior—so care becomes more consistent, more confident, and more human. When everyone works from the same model, the hardest moments get easier, and families feel the difference.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
Great care teams still get stuck on the same thing.
Your staff show up wanting to do right by the people in their care. But the moments that wear a team down are rarely about effort—they're about understanding: the resident who accuses an aide of stealing, the refusals at the shower door, the insistence on going home while sitting in the place they now live.
Most dementia training hands teams a list of techniques to memorize. It helps for a moment, then falls apart the first time a situation doesn't match the script. What staff are missing isn't more tips—it's a way of understanding what's actually happening in the brain, so they can respond to anything, not just the scenarios someone thought to cover.
Better Dementia® gives your team that understanding. One clear model of the brain, taught in full—so behaviors start to make sense, care becomes more consistent from shift to shift, and your staff feel confident instead of caught off guard.
“Learn the what, when, and why of dementia, so you can master the how of caregiving.”
Amy Shaw, PA-C • Better Dementia®
WHAT YOUR TEAM GAINS
A model your whole staff can share.
Better Dementia® training isn't a slideshow of do's and don'ts. It's a single, complete way of understanding the brain—one your team learns once and applies across every resident, every behavior, and every stage of the journey.
A SHARED MODEL
Everyone working from the same understanding
When your whole team understands why the brain does what it does, care stops depending on who happens to be on shift. Aides, nurses, and leadership speak the same language and respond the same way—consistency families can feel.
One team, one approach.
CONFIDENT STAFF
A team that feels equipped, not overwhelmed
Uncertainty is exhausting. Staff who understand the brain feel prepared for what they're seeing rather than braced for the next surprise—and confidence on the floor is one of the things that keeps good people in the work.
Prepared, not caught off guard.
BETTER DEMENTIA® JOURNEY FRAMEWORK
A roadmap grounded in the brain
Not "mild, moderate, and severe." The Better Dementia® staging system charts four milestones of cognitive decline your team can actually recognize and respond to—how each one shows up in real life, and what to do at every step to protect a person's safety and dignity.
Know where you are and what will happen next.
PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS
A team that feels equipped, not overwhelmed
Anxiety, depression, agitation, insomnia, hallucinations, delusions, paranoia—and the everyday moments they drive: the accusations of stealing, the refusals at the shower door, the wandering, the insistence on going home. When your team can recognize what they're seeing, what once looked frightening becomes something they can make sense of and respond to calmly.
Fewer moments that escalate.
DIGNITY-CENTERED CARE
Protecting the person inside the diagnosis
The goal isn't just managing behavior—it's caring in a way that protects each person's dignity at every stage. Your team learns to see the person the brain is still trying to be, and to respond in ways that honor them.
The whole person, all the way through.
BETTER FAMILY COMMUNICATION
Language that reassures the families you serve
Families arrive frightened and full of questions. A team that can explain what's happening—clearly and compassionately—builds the kind of trust that defines an organization's reputation.
Trust, from the first conversation.
WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
Training that fits your team.
Whether you want to bring Better Dementia® to your staff for a focused in-service or build it into how your whole organization cares, there's a way to start. Every engagement is tailored to your team—reach out and we'll find the right fit together.
IN-SERVICE TRAINING
Bring Better Dementia® to your staff
Live training for your team—on-site or virtual—led by Amy Shaw, PA-C. A clear, engaging introduction to the model that changes how your staff understand and respond to dementia.
Live sessions delivered to your team, on-site or virtual
The Better Dementia® model, taught in plain language
Practical for aides, nurses, and care staff at every level
Scheduled and scoped around your organization's needs
THE PROFESSIONAL ACADEMY
Build the framework into your team
A structured training course that teaches your whole team the complete Better Dementia® framework. Every staff member works through the same lessons and learns the same way of understanding dementia—so it becomes the shared foundation of how your organization cares.
A self-paced online course each team member completes
The complete Better Dementia® framework, taught in full
Licensed for your team so everyone learns the same model
A lasting foundation, not a one-time in-service
FROM A CARE TEAM
What understanding changes.
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Amy helped me build the understanding and skills to care for people with dementia and support their families. I am often the first to take an assignment with someone who has dementia because I feel confident caring for them.
– Care Facility RN
WHO LEADS THE TRAINING
Amy Shaw, PA-C
Dementia clinician, educator, and creator of Better Dementia®
Amy has spent nearly a decade as a dementia clinician, walking alongside hundreds of patients and thousands of caregivers through every stage of this journey. She looked for the patterns beneath it all—across diseases, personalities, and behaviors—until one model explained what she was seeing.
That model is Better Dementia®. She now teaches it to the families living it and the professionals whose work is care—so the people doing the caring, in homes and organizations alike, finally have a clear way to understand the person they're caring for.
"Dementia may rob a loved one of their skills and abilities, but it will never take away their humanity."
A CORE BELIEF BEHIND BETTER DEMENTIA®
WHY I DO THIS WORK
Caregivers do better when they understand the what, when, and why of dementia — so they can master the how of caregiving.
Dementia is not random. It follows patterns. When those patterns are understood, caregiving becomes more predictable, more skillful, and less frightening.
Better Dementia™: A National Platform for Caregiver Support
Amy founded Better Dementia™ 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.
