Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer`s disease is a complex and challenging endeavor. But there are a couple of new resources to help area caregivers.

The first comes from the Alzheimer’s Association Massachusetts/New Hampshire chapter, which is offering a free Care Consultation service for family caregivers caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s.

Care Consultation is a confidential, individualized service to help your family develop a better understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, make a plan to secure needed care and develop strategies for the best possible symptom management and communication.

Each care consultant has expertise in the field of dementia and is available to provide in-depth, person-to-person assessment, education and support.

Contact the Alzheimer’s Association Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter for additional information or to schedule an appointment. Care Consultation is available at each of the chapter’s five offices, by phone or online. The closest office locations to MetroWest are the chapter headquarters in Watertown (480 Pleasant Street), the Central Mass. office in Worcester (128 Providence Street) and the Southeastern Mass. office in Raynham (Village South Plaza, 473 South Street West, Unit 13).

The Alzheimer’s Association Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter can also be reached by phone at 800-272-3900 or online at www.alz.org/MANH.

Area caregivers can also receive free Alzheimer’s training in a program presented by Hearthstone Alzheimer Care and the I’m Still Here Foundation.

For the first time, Heathstone Alzheimer Care is offering training in its “I’m Still Here” approach to persons caring for their loved at home. Backed by over 20 years of research, this approach is taught and utilized in state of the art memory care programs throughout the United States and internationally.

The “I’m Still Here” philosophy provides a proven method  for increasing quality of life while reducing the behaviors that caregivers often find challenging, In the four-hour training session, caregivers will learn how to use Hearthstone’s time-tested methods to create strategies for successfully caring for and engaging their loved ones at home.

The next scheduled training will take place at the Callahan Center, 535 Union Avenue in Framingham from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16. There will be another training at HESSCO Elder Services, 1 Merchant Street in Sharon from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Participants in the training session will learn strategies for:

– Reducing repetitive question asking
– Reducing resistance to bathing
– Dining out with your loved one
– Successful communication techniques
– Making your home “dementia friendly”
– Activities you can do with your loved one
– Maintaining relationships with family members and friends
– Creating memory cues that can help maintain independence

The training is free for people caring for their loved one at home, but seating is limited. Lunch will be served.

Please RSVP to 781-305-7107 or wecare@thehearth.org.