EVANSVILLE, Ind., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- A University of Southern Indiana Alzheimer's expert plans to offer two online courses next spring to teach people about the degenerative and deadly disease.
Martha Sparks will offer a certification program for healthcare professionals, which she said is one of the few online courses of its kind nationwide. The second online course will teach undergraduates about Alzheimer's disease.
"I want to help give a feeling of the illness, and not just cognitive information about it," Sparks said. "If we can understand what to expect, and know why we see the behavior, then our emotions don't get quite so involved, and we can use a more practical approach to caring for the patient."
Sparks has had personal experience with the disease that struck her mother-in-law, father and husband. At one point, Sparks cared for both her husband and her father.
"Living with two people with Alzheimer's is a good reason to keep learning about the disease," Sparks said. "It gives you a new perspective."
