Caregiver Education & Navigation | Lafayette, Louisiana
Dementia changes everything.
The person you love is still there. The grief, the exhaustion, the uncertainty about what comes next. That is real too. Most families navigate all of it without a map.
That is what I provide.
I am Mark deClouet, a Certified Dementia Practitioner based in Lafayette. I work with caregivers as a navigator, which means one person who helps you understand what is happening, figure out what comes next, and stays with you as the situation changes. Not a clinician. Someone who has spent years inside this disease and can help you find your footing.
You do not have to figure this out alone.
What I Do
Dementia caregiver guidance and navigation in Lafayette and Acadiana.
Families dealing with dementia face a particular kind of overwhelm. The disease is complicated. The healthcare system can be hard to figure out. And watching someone you love change is one of the hardest things a person can go through.
I help caregivers make sense of all of it.
01
Understand What Is Coming
Dementia has a trajectory. Most families do not know what it is until they are already inside the next stage. I help you understand what is actually coming so that when things get harder, you are not caught off guard and starting from zero.
02
Respond to Difficult Behaviors
Agitation, refusal, repetition, wandering, sleep problems. These are not character flaws. They are symptoms. There are ways to respond that make things calmer and protect your loved one’s dignity.
03
Make the Healthcare System Work for You
You had twelve minutes with the neurologist. You forgot half of what you meant to ask, and you left knowing about the same as when you walked in. I help you prepare for those appointments, understand what came out of them, and make sure your loved one does not get lost in the handoffs between providers.
04
Know When Enough Is Enough
Most caregivers wait too long to ask for help, not because they do not need it but because asking feels like giving up. It is not. Knowing what you can carry and what requires outside support is one of the most important things I help families figure out.
This is a navigation service, not a clinical one. I am not treating your loved one. I am helping you understand what is happening and what you can do about it.
Recently diagnosed with MCI and looking for support for yourself? I work with individuals directly. Learn about the MCI Navigator →
Mark deClouet
MSN, CDP
Certified Dementia Practitioner Lafayette, LAAbout
I am a Certified Dementia Practitioner with a Master of Science in Nursing and more than fifteen years of experience in behavioral health care, with a strong focus on dementia and the families who care for people living with it.
For most of those years I worked inside the systems that dementia families are trying to figure out. I know how those systems work, where they fall short, and where families tend to get lost. That experience is the foundation of everything I do here.
I built this service because I believe families deserve more than a diagnosis and a referral.
They deserve someone who will sit with them, help them understand what they are dealing with, and stay with them as things change. Someone who has been close to this disease long enough to know that the quality of care a person with dementia receives depends almost entirely on the people around them.
My graduate work in public health focuses specifically on the experience of family caregivers of people living with dementia. That research informs how I think about this work and keeps me close to what the evidence actually says.
My background informs my work as a navigator. It does not define it. I am based in Lafayette and serve families throughout the region.
Ready to Talk
Let’s start a conversation.
There is no intake process. No screening. Just a conversation about what your family is going through and whether I am the right person to help.
Start here Get in touch →