After the webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the elements of a care team for dementia caregivers

2. List approaches to managing common behavioral problems in dementia

3. Discuss ways to help individuals with dementia and their caregivers sustain their relationship

4. Identify strategies to help caregivers prepare for the future

Target Audience: Psychologists

Instructional Level: Intermediate

Dr. Maureen O'Connor is a board-certified neuropsychologist engaged in clinical work, research, and teaching. She received her doctorate in psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, focusing her dissertation on the differentiation of depression versus Alzheimer's disease. She attended Yale University School of Medicine for her predoctoral internship, where she conducted outpatient and inpatient memory evaluations for adults with a broad range of diagnostic presentations. She went on to complete one year of postdoctoral residency at Cornell Weil Medical Center/Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and two additional years of residency at the Bedford VA Hospital/Boston University School of Medicine. In 2005 she accepted an appointment at the Bedford VA Hospital as the Director of Neuropsychology. In that role she established the Bedford Memory Diagnostic Clinic, specifically designed to evaluate and treat older Veterans with memory loss. In 2009 she accepted the Young Alumni Achievement Award from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has served on the boards of the Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society and the National Academy of Neuropsychology. Dr. O’Connor is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at Boston University (BU) School of Medicine. In 2019 she was appointed the Director of the Research Education Training Component at BU in the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Dr. O'Connor's research interests include understanding and developing interventions to improve the lives of adults with memory loss and the lives of the family members that help provide care. She has been the recipient of foundation, philanthropic, and federal funding. Most recently the National Institute of Health and National Institute of Aging provided Dr. O’Connor and colleagues with $3.2 million dollars of funding to support a 5-year research project examining how relationship factors impact couples navigating a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to her ongoing research activities, Dr. O'Connor continues to evaluate and treat individuals with memory loss while teaching doctoral students, interns, and residents in neuropsychology.

Dr. Andrew E. Budson, a board-certified cognitive behavioral neurologist, is on a crusade to empower individuals, families, and doctors with the knowledge they need surrounding memory loss and dementia. His co-authored textbook, Memory Loss, Alzheimer's Disease, and Dementia: A Practical Guide for Clinicians, now in its 3rd edition, has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. His award-winning, co-authored book, Seven Steps to Managing Your Memory: What’s Normal, What’s Not, and What to Do About It, explains how individuals can distinguish changes in memory due to Alzheimer's versus normal aging, what medications, diets, and exercise regimes can help, and the best habits, strategies, and memory aids to use, in seven simple steps. It is being translated into Chinese and Korean. His latest co-authored book, Six Steps to Managing Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia: A Guide for Families, helps families manage issues with memory, language, vision, behavior, driving, incontinence, sleep, and more. Educated at Haverford College and Harvard Medical School, he is Chief of Cognitive & Behavioral Neurology at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Associate Director of the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Professor of Neurology at Boston University School of Medicine, and Lecturer in Neurology at Harvard Medical School.