Are you one of the 40 million? ~

That is the estimated number of unpaid family caregivers in the United States today.

And as our population ages and life spans are longer more of us will be finding ourselves caring either for an elderly parent or an aging spouse at some time. Family caregivers are usually unpaid and certainly not trained professionals. Most new family caregivers greatly underestimate the enormity of the task ahead. Many feel like they are "flying by the seat of their pants" having to make quick decisions with long-term consequences.

Caregiver School is a training program designed to provide the needed information and education to help you be a more effective and less stress family caregiver. This nine-part program covers a variety of topics that will help you provide the best care for your loved one and yourself.

Download and print the Course Outline to see that I will cover a lot of really basic yet important information that you will need to help you be a more effective and hopefully a little less stressed family caregiver.

This audio series is for information and educational purposes only. I do not provide any legal, medical or financial advice. My goal is to provide you with general information, so that you can seek out professional assistance from the appropriate subject matter expert.

Not all family caregivers are the same nor are they struggling with the same issues at the same time. Each of you is on a unique journey with your particular loved one and their individual needs and concerns. Some of you are more active in your loved one's care, while others have a much smaller role. Your unique circumstances can make a big difference in the amount of time or skill you will need to provide the best care.

It is important to understand the different path that your caregiving journey might take so you can be prepared for the challenges ahead. Depending on the reason for the caregiving journey some of you might need to do more work and preparation upfront while other have more time to plan and prepare.

This audio series is for information and educational purposes only. I do not provide any legal, medical or financial advice. My goal is to provide you with general information, so that you can seek out professional assistance from the appropriate subject matter expert.

Many families find themselves well into the role of caregiver before they realize what has happened. Whether suddenly at a hospital bedside or slowly over time, families quickly realize just how difficult caring for someone can be at times. They search for information and answers to help make better choices and feel more in control.

In my work with families, I've found that many just want to be told what to do next. When they had a plan or a set of instructions to follow they were better able to manage the day-to-day tasks of care giving.

So in this lesson I will outline the six essential steps, which may help bring some order to the potential chaos of caregiving. I'll go through each of these steps in more detail in future lessons

For some the beginning of their journey as a family caregiver is obvious. A sudden heart attack, stroke, accident or injury requires a family member to step up and take charge. So what do you do if you are suddenly thrust into the role of family caregiver? When faced with a situation that requires a more immediate response and more definitive action plan. Priorities change, planning becomes a more urgent need and the learning curve is steeper and more critical.

So here is a Practical Plan of Action that you can use to prepare for the journey ahead. Print out the accompanying worksheet to follow along.

WHEN do you become a family caregiver? You are struggling with knowing when you need to step in and help and when you need to leave well enough alone. When we care for our loved one we want our help to be received with a "thank you so much, I don't know what I would do without you!" and not "mind you own business, I can take care of myself". Knowing where this line is can be very tricky to navigate successfully and has lead to many family conflicts.

In part 2 of caregiver school you will learn how to assess your loved ones abilities and disabilities so that you will have a clearer understanding of when and how you might step in and help.

Lesson 1 Understanding Normal Aging

In this lesson you'll learn about how normal aging affects our loved ones ability to function independently and the difference between disability as a result of normal aging and that caused by the more serious disease process of dementia.

In this lesson we continue our discussion of normal aging and focusing on how it affects our brain function and its emotional toll. I will also cover how to tell when some changes might be a sign of something more serious.

With normal aging our brains and cognitive or thinking skills will slow down, become inefficient but disease or disorders of the brain will destroy or impair these skills which is VERY different.

An aging brain will have you forget where you left your keys a diseased brain will have you believe someone moved or took them. In the early stages of the disease process this difference can be quite subtle and difficult to distinguish. But as the disease progresses it will become too obvious to ignore.

Are you wondering if your elderly loved should drive?

When is it time to stop someone from driving or should you intervene at all? As a family caregiver you might be the one who has to make this very difficult decision. So how do you know? Is there an age when someone is too old to drive? Maybe, but age alone is not the biggest risk factor in one's ability to drive.

As you think about limiting or eliminating your loved one's ability to drive remember that you are not just taking away keys and assuring their personal safety you are also limiting their autonomy and independence as well as yours. Who will have to start driving them when they stop? Making this decision for someone else has the potential to create a significant amount of conflict and should be done so cautiously and only as a last resort. It is a difficult decision that is best handled as compassionately as possible.

Family caregivers struggle with knowing when to step in and help and when to leave well enough alone. But how do you know what to do and when? Maybe your 80-year-old mother is fine living alone right now with just some occasional assistance. But what additional help could she use now and what do you anticipate her needing in the future? Are there simple modifications that can be done today to avoid an injury or accident and is she able to recognize these as a need. What plan does she already have in place to help meet her changing needs and abilities? Are they realistic? What are the options available? How will you know when to make a change? Having the answers to these questions ahead of time will help you be prepared to respond to the inevitable changes.

A "needs assessment" is the term professional caregivers use to determine what help is required in order to determine the services to be provided. From this assessment a plan of care is created.