Navigating Dementia

Because working with cognitive impairment is different

With the number of Alzheimer’s and other dementia diagnoses expected to double between now and 2050, end-of-life doulas may expect to encounter dementia in growing numbers. For clients with dementia, the doula work is different and calls for special knowledge and skills. 

Learn how to modify your service delivery to meet the unique needs of those experiencing dementia who are at the end of life. This class examines the various cognitive changes that develop in each stage of dementia and how they may affect your doula work. Practical knowledge on what and how to adapt your methods for people with dementia – in any stage – can support you at the bedside to provide optimal doula care.

Adapt to meet a person where they are

Dementia is much more than memory loss. As it progresses it affects visual, auditory, and sensory processing in addition to one’s abilities to articulate their thoughts and to reason. In short, dementia affects a person’s thinking and behavior, not just their memory. Therefore, end-of-life doulas can benefit from dementia-specific knowledge if a client has dementia, whether the cause of death is dementia or another illness.

Among numerous types of cognitive ability that progressively decline with dementia, it increasingly hinders a person’s ability to communicate. In these cases a doula’s legacy, ritual planning, vigil planning and additional services may call for a different approach. Understanding all the various cognitive changes and the symptoms that that usually present is a first step to meeting a client or person with dementia where they are and to creating appropriate adaptations for each individual. Also, your knowledge may be supportive to the dying person’s loved ones in their caregiving. 

Creating meaning and dignity

This class is designed to unfold the “typical” progression for an Alzheimer’s type dementia and explore doula methods within this context. We’ll cover cognitive decline in many parts of the brain and how those changes affect the way you attend to the dying when dementia is present. We will practice applying this knowledge in some hypothetical scenarios to reinforce your understanding of the concepts and topics covered. Becoming confident in attending those with dementia can help deepen your impact as an end-of-life doula.

Information about other forms of dementia will be included, but not the focus.

Who can benefit from Navigating Dementia?

This class is intended for death doulas who have completed end-of-life doula training, as it examines all the tools and skills we teach in our primary doula training through the lens of dementia.