Alzheimer's & Dementia Caregiver Training
Whether you're brand new to caregiving, or you just want to brush up on a specific topic, Insight is here to help! We offer a variety of caregiving classes throughout the year, specifically geared towards family care partners providing care for a loved one at home. Most classes are free, and open to the public.
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What's Offered?
Types of Classes
Specialized classes are offered for care partners to build their skills and confidence while learning more about new topics, services, and dementia resources in the community. These sessions can be one more tool in your belt to being a stronger care partner! Classes and workshops are offered on a variety of topics throughout the year, both in-person and online.
Getting started
- Care Partner Trainings - free, one-time classes offered on a variety of topics to help care partners learn new skills and resources available. Typically offered both in-person and virtually.
- Virtual Dementia Tour - free hands-on experience to simulate the effects of dementia. It is designed to help care partners better empathize with their loved ones and provide better care. Offered in-person several times throughout the year.
Go more in-depth
- Caregiver Bootcamp - free, multi-session training for care partners to learn more all in one day! Bootcamps are offered several times each year on a variety of helpful topics for care partners.
- Caregiving at a Glance Workshop Series - 5 week series that walks through our popular Caregiving at Glance guidebook with the help of experts in the field. Offered several times throughout the year, both in-person and virtually.
- Community Workshops - Insight works with numerous area partners to offer additional training opportunities throughout the year, such as the Caring for You, Caring for Me workshop series, Northern Virginia Dementia Care Consortium Conference, and more!
And there's more!
- Author presentations and book discussions - Hear from and chat with popular authors on topics related to memory and cognitive impairments and caregiving support.
- Movie Screenings and Q&A - Enjoy a film screening related to memory and cognitive impairments, and stay for a Q&A to learn more!
- Special guest and expert speakers - Experts in the field present on topics related to caregiving, legal needs, financial plans, and more.
- Community presentations - Insight presents for other groups and organizations, many of which are open to the public. If you miss a class here, join us in your neighborhood!
Join Us!
Upcoming Classes
Lewy Body Dementia and Vision
When we think about vision, we often focus solely on the eyes—but sight involves much more than that. In fact, nearly half of the brain is involved in processing and interacting with visual information. Approximately 25% of the brain is dedicated to interpreting what we see, while another 25% connects visual input with memory, recognition, motor skills, navigation, and hazard awareness. This presentation explores how these critical brain functions are affected when Lewy bodies—abnormal protein deposits associated with Lewy Body Dementia—interfere with visual processing areas. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how disruptions in visual cognition can impact everyday activities and quality of life.
This class will be held both virtually and in-person in Fairfax. Please select your attendance type when you register.
The in-person session will be held in the Mazawey Education and Support Center, 3955 Pender Drive, Suite 100, Fairfax, VA 22030.
Virtual attendees will receive Zoom information prior to the class.
This program is a part of our monthly Care Partner Training series. All sessions are FREE, and held the second Wednesday of each month from 1:00 to 2:30 pm.
Presenter
Julia Wood, MOT, OTR/L
Julia Wood, MOT, OTR/L graduated with her master’s degree in occupational therapy (OT) from the University of Minnesota after completion of her clinical fieldwork in neurological rehabilitation from the Mayo Clinic, St. Mary’s Hospital campus in Rochester, Minnesota. Julia has an extensive clinical background in interprofessional care in Parkinson’s disease and related dementias as part of the comprehensive care team at the University of Pennsylvania’s Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Center of Excellence for many years.
Julia is the Director of Professional and Community Education for the Lewy Body Dementia Association and serves as certification and training faculty for the LSVT BIG® program. Julia serves as faculty for the Parkinson’s Foundation’s Team Training for Parkinson program served on the Parkinson’s Foundation Rehabilitation Task Force in 2021. She co-authored the first Practice Guideline for Adults with Parkinson’s Disease for the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Julia served on the steering committee for the 2022 International Lewy Body Dementia Conference and serves on the Comprehensive Care Subcommittee for the World Parkinson’s Congress (WPC). She is a member of the Board of Directors for the International Neuropalliative Care Society.
Looking for more information?
Contact Us!
Contact our Education Team at educate@insightmcc.org or 703-204-4664.
