OMAHA, NE -- (Marketwire) -- 11/19/12 -- There are an estimated 15 million people who are caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's or dementia in the United States. Many find themselves caring for a parent or grandparent or friend without much warning. Something goes wrong and help is needed immediately. People care and they step up.

But, most have never been trained to care for someone with Alzheimer's or dementia. Until recently, there were few resources available to help manage the changing behaviors of loved ones. In fact, in a recent Marist poll, about one-third of Americans who have cared for someone with Alzheimer's report feeling unprepared to cope with various Alzheimer's related behaviors or actions. Thanks to Home Instead Senior Care, that's all changing. In all 50 states, there are free courses available to help navigate the stages of Alzheimer's.

Some examples of the strategies covered include:

• Keep a journal of your loved one's favorite activities. Because they often cannot store new information efficiently, they use past experiences to make sense of the present.
• To help manage difficult reactions and behaviors -- like a loved one who is reluctant to bathe -- call upon significant experiences of their youth and use those experiences to gain the desired action. For example, one Home Instead client and former Air Force Colonel refused to bathe until he was told that his General would soon be coming by for an inspection. The CAREGiver was able to utilize the memories that were left to help make sense of the action that needed to happen.
• Research has shown that talking and physically engaging people with Alzheimer's disease or other dementia can create positive emotional experiences, reduce stress and provide a better quality of life.
• Simple household chores like folding laundry or setting the table can keep a loved one engaged.

Go to www.helpforalzheimersfamilies.com and enter your zip code to find a free course near you, or, if help is needed immediately, take the online version of the courses also available on that site.

Home Instead Senior Care is the nation's most trusted and most experienced in-home care provider. Call 888-692-5129 to find out about training sessions.

This release is provided by YourUpdate.tv for whom Dr. Amy D'Aprix is a spokesperson on behalf of the organizations referred.

For more information, please visit: www.helpforalzheimersfamilies.com

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