Dementia care is as much about relationships as it is about medical facts. Loretta Shacklett, CDP, is a Dementia Care Educator, Certified Dementia Practitioner Instructor, and Founder of Trinity Dementia Training, where she provides education programs for healthcare professionals serving older adults. She also founded Simplify Senior Living, where she supports families and individuals living with dementia through care management, companionship, and advocacy.
Keep reading to learn her insights.
One of the biggest challenges caregivers face is understanding that dementia changes the way a person experiences and interacts with the world. Caregivers are often trying to communicate and problem-solve using approaches that worked before the dementia, which can lead to frustration, stress, and emotional exhaustion for everyone involved.
Through both my caregiving work at Simplify Senior Living and my dementia education programs at Trinity Dementia Training, I have found that when caregivers understand the disease process and learn effective communication strategies, they feel more confident, less overwhelmed, and better equipped to support their loved one while preserving quality of life.
One of the most common misconceptions is that dementia is only about memory loss.
In reality, dementia affects communication, judgment, emotions, perception, behavior, and the ability to process information. When families and professionals understand that behaviors are often a form of communication rather than intentional actions, it changes how they respond.
In the Montessori Concepts in Dementia Care Seminar, we teach participants to shift their focus from what has been lost to what abilities remain. Individuals living with dementia still have strengths, preferences, emotions, and a desire for purpose and connection.
– Loretta Shacklett, CDP
Education is the foundation of quality dementia care.
Whether you are a family caregiver, home care professional, nurse, social worker, or senior living community team member, understanding dementia changes everything. Education leads to better communication, more compassionate interactions, reduced caregiver stress, and improved quality of life for the person living with dementia.
When an organization puts real investment into dementia education and certification, that means something. Families notice it. Staff feel it. And the people living with dementia experience it in every interaction. It goes beyond better training — it's a statement that the people in their care deserve more than just assistance. They deserve dignity, independence, and genuine human connection.
My first piece of advice is this: you don't have to figure this out alone. A diagnosis can feel overwhelming, but the more you understand about what dementia actually does — how a person thinks, feels, and sees the world, the less frightening it becomes. Knowledge turns panic into direction.
Build a support system early. Ask questions. Find people who get it.
And when it comes to your loved one, stop trying to bring them back to where they were. The most meaningful moments happen when you meet them where they are today — trading correction for connection, frustration for curiosity. That shift changes everything, for both of you.
As Loretta shared, quality dementia care begins with education and compassion.
Loretta Shacklett is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and dementia care educator with nearly a decade of hands-on experience supporting individuals living with dementia and the families who care for them. As the founder of Trinity Dementia Training, she provides education programs for healthcare professionals, including the Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care Seminar — an 8-hour training that allows eligible professionals to apply for the Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP®) credential through the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners.
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