FTD — A Devastating Disease

Articulate Storyline eLearning Project and Infographic

View eLearning Developer 1 Credly Badge

Project Dedication:

This eLearning project is dedicated in memory of my friend, "Bob" Brown, who suffered from FTD, and his wife, "Amy" Brown, who was his caregiver. After "Bob" finally received his diagnosis, he lived for only four more years. He passed away a year after this project was completed.

In February 2023, the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration posted more information about FTD. This disease was in the news when Bruce Willis was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia.

Problem:

A dear friend of mine informed me that her husband was diagnosed with FTD in 2018. I witnessed her struggles and the difficulties that her children have had to endure. When "Bob" wandered absentmindedly away from home, my family joined the search efforts. We watched the rapid deterioration of "Bob." Not knowing much about FTD, I talked with "Amy," researched the subject, and attended a University of Pennsylvania conference on FTD. Because of its "devastation" on my friend's life and the tremendous impact on my own family, I became an FTD spokesperson in my church community. I realized there was a huge need to inform about how FTD impacts the caregiver and the patient, and how the community could help.

Solution:

My goal was to offer a personal perspective for caregivers, families, and friends of a patient with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), raise awareness, and direct them to helpful resources.

I wrote the script and storyboarded real-life situations my friend's family endured, designed the course, recorded my own voiceover, and developed the course in Articulate Storyline. The eLearning described the emotional story of the Brown family and provided facts, symptoms, causes, and additional resources about FTD. I also designed an infographic providing helpful steps after an FTD diagnosis.

Objectives:

Use a storytelling format to inform the learner of the facts, symptoms, and causes of FTD, a degenerative brain disease.
Utilize a knowledge check after the story to determine if the learner retained some basic facts regarding FTD.
Provide resources to support those who care for a person with FTD.

Learner Objectives:

Describe basic behavioral changes and symptoms commonly occurring in a person diagnosed with FTD.
Identify the areas of the brain that are affected by FTD.
Recognize the common struggles and frustrations that often occur with the caregiver or family member dealing with an FTD patient.

Results:

I received great feedback from my friend "Amy" Brown and IDOL Courses for my storytelling. As a result of this eLearning development, I was issued the Level 1: eLearning Credly badge from IDOL Courses. My storytelling skills were also highlighted in Robin Sargent's book, "The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide For Instructional Designers and Online Learning Developers."

Link to her book on Amazon
Link to her book from IDOL Courses and extra book resources

Reflection:

This was the first course that I designed and developed in Articulate Storyline. My skills in course design have since improved, but I have kept it here in honor of the Brown family and to continue raising public awareness of FTD.

Storyboard

eLearning

Infographic

FTD Storyboard

Select each slide to view this storyboard.

This eLearning project is dedicated in memory of my friend, "Bob" Brown, who suffered from FTD, and his wife, "Amy" Brown, who was his caregiver for many challenging years. After "Bob" finally received his diagnosis, he lived only four more years.

Actor Bruce Willis was recently diagnosed with this devastating disease.

FTD eLearning