The Academy teaches the complete Better Dementia® framework in self-paced video lessons. You'll understand why dementia changes the person you love—so the behaviors that feel confusing start to make sense, and caregiving becomes more intuitive at every stage.
WHY THE ACADEMY EXISTS
A diagnosis is where most support ends. It's where the Academy begins.
Every day, caregivers suffer through this journey unnecessarily—not because they aren't trying, and not because they don't love enough, but because no one ever explained what's actually happening in the brain of the person they're caring for.
The medical community can name the disease. But too often, a diagnosis is where the help stops. You walk out of the appointment and into the daily reality of caregiving—the forgetting, the accusations, the refusals, the insistence on going home while sitting in the home they've lived in for decades—with no one to turn to.
Better Dementia® fills that gap—the space between a clinical diagnosis and the real, daily needs you face at home. The Academy gives you a complete way of understanding the brain, so behaviors start to make sense, caregiving becomes more intuitive, and you never have to navigate this alone.
“Learn the what, when, and why of dementia, so you can master the how of caregiving.”
Amy Shaw, PA-C • Better Dementia®
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
The complete framework, in one course.
This isn't a handful of tips to skim and forget. It is the whole Better Dementia® framework in 7.5 hours of self-paced video—everything you need to understand what's happening and what to do about it, from the first signs of change to the very end of the journey. Learn the model once, and you'll use it at every stage.
THE NEW MODEL
How the brain actually works
The brain has one fundamental job—to make sense of the world—and it never stops doing it, even as dementia changes how. This new way of seeing draws on neuroanatomy, physiology, psychology, and clinical medicine, and it's the shift everything else is built on.
Suddenly, behavior makes sense.
COMMUNICATION & SUPPORT
Working with the brain, not against it
How to align your communication—and the physical and social world around your loved one—with the skills they still have and the purpose the brain is always working toward. When the world fits the brain, connection and calm follow.
Connection instead of conflict.
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 you can actually recognize and respond to at home—how each one shows up in real life, and what to do at every step to protect your loved one's safety and dignity.
Know where you are and what will happen next.
PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS
The most misunderstood symptoms
Anxiety, depression, agitation, insomnia, hallucinations, delusions, paranoia—the part of dementia families are least prepared for. When you know what you're seeing, what once looked frightening becomes something you can recognize, make sense of, and respond to.
Know where you are and what will happen next.
CARE DECISIONS, GUIDED
Home care, facilities & hospice
The practical decisions that catch families off guard: how and when to get started with care at home, how to make a successful transition to a care facility, and what hospice truly offers at the end—so each choice comes with clarity instead of crisis.
Peace, not fear, at the very end.
CARING FOR THE CAREGIVER
Support for the person doing the caring
Time devoted entirely to you. Caring for someone with dementia can ask for everything you have—and running on empty helps no one. This is real guidance for protecting your own health, energy, and wellbeing across the whole journey.
You matter in this story too.
FROM CAREGIVERS
What understanding changes
Words from families who've walked this journey with the Better Dementia® framework.
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"Amy’s education helped me feel prepared, supported, and not taken by surprise at each step.”
– Mike, Family Caregiver
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"Amy's education laid the foundation for a calmer, more confident dementia journey. We were able to support our father at home with dignity and comfort throughout his illness."
– Jim, Family Caregiver
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"Because of Amy's education, I knew what to expect, and when it came time to start hospice care, it was a very natural decision."
– Barbara, Family Caregiver
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"Everything happened exactly as Amy said it would."
– Ken, Family Caregiver
“By the time you finish, you will understand the brain differently. Behaviors that once felt irrational will begin to make sense. You'll know where your loved one is in the journey and what is likely to come next—and you'll be able to respond in ways that protect their dignity at every stage.”
AMY SHAW, PA-C · BETTER DEMENTIA®
JOIN THE ACADEMY
Simple pricing. Lifetime access.
Start with the Academy—everything you need to learn the framework at your own pace. Add live time with Amy whenever you want it.
THE ACADEMY PLUS
Add live time with Amy
$99
Per year, per member • Optional add-on to the Academy
Monthly live training with Amy
Monthly live Q&A with Amy
Bring your questions
Priced per individual member
Join the Academy now, and you'll be the first to know when Academy Plus live sessions begin.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Is the Academy right for us?
Not at all. The Academy is built for families, not clinicians. It assumes only that you love someone with dementia and want to understand what's happening—everything is taught in plain language.
Earlier is better. Dementia becomes a caregiving journey much sooner than most families expect. Learning the framework now means you're ready for what's ahead, instead of catching up in the middle of a hard moment.
The framework covers the entire journey—through the later stages and end-of-life care. Wherever you are today, you'll understand where your loved one is and what's likely to come next.
Yes. One Academy enrollment is meant for caregivers in the same household to share a single login, so everyone caring for your loved one can learn the same framework and support each other with it.
Lifetime. You buy once and can return to any part of the course, at any stage of the journey, for as long as you need it.
The Academy is the complete self-paced course—a one-time purchase with lifetime access. Academy Plus is an optional add-on at $99/year per member that adds a monthly live Q&A and a monthly live training with Amy.
Yes—even within the same household, or sharing the same computer. The self-paced Academy is a single shared household login, but Academy Plus membership is per individual participant. The monthly live Q&A and training are group sessions with Amy, and each person who takes part needs their own $99/year membership.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy Shaw, PA-C
Dementia clinician, educator, and creator of Better Dementia®
Amy has spent nearly a decade as a dementia clinician, walking alongside families through every stage of this journey. Again and again she saw the same thing: the families who struggled most weren't the ones who loved less—they were the ones no one had ever explained the brain to, clearly and completely.
So she built the explanation herself. This book is that framework, in full—the same one behind the Better Dementia® Academy and her work with families and care organizations nationwide.
Amy is the author of The Arc of Conversation: A How-To Guide for Goals of Care Conversations (Springer, 2025) and Better Dementia: A Roadmap for the Caregiver's Journey (Publishing, 2027).
"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®