Understanding Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

This is the third time that I have undertaken the Understanding Multiple Sclerosis (MS) online course. After the September offering in 2020, I repeated the course a year later for revision. When UTAS contacted me again with the information that new material was going to be presented in the September offering 2022, I was just curious and enrolled for the third time in three years.
It is fascinating to hear in Module 5 Disease Management from Jane England, a person living with MS, about her perspectives with stem cell therapy. Though the video is short, it is packed with information. As stem cell therapy is a bone marrow transplant, this procedure is not to be taken lightly. It is considered when disease modifying therapies (DMT's) have failed. Jane England is very open about her approach to this difficult and dangerous procedure she went through. Being under the age of forty years of age, having failed three disease modifying therapies already, having be still a person with relapsing remitting MS and lastly a person with very high MS activity, made her a candidate for stem cell therapy. Jane did ten years of research before undergoing the procedure. Eight months post stem cell therapy, she is pretty much of all her medications and her biggest problem which is nerve pain is at bay.
Thank you for this new video so well presented, so inspiring and so full of information.
Module 6 Living with MS with Caitlin Wilde, a person living with MS for eight years, is even shorter but explains so well that pregnancy is possible at the right time. Caitlin felt well during pregnancy but relapsed after birth with symptoms which did not come as a surprise because that information was given to her before falling pregnant.
Again, a wonderful addition to current material.

This course was very insightful, I am a parent of a 22year old diagnosed on her 19th Birthday after going blind in one eye with Rapidly Evolving Severe MS (her sight did return it happened twice 3 months apart),Neurologist found four lesions in her brain in the November by January she had 14 in her brain and 2 in her spine it has been an horrendous journey, she works part time and is a full time Uni student studying Animal Biology & Wildlife Conservation. Her brain cognition and behaviour was awful she began to get drop foot and speech issues feelings of wetness insomnia stomach bowel and bladder problems and her balance was going she couldn't eat for the sickness, She also developed voices in her head to kill herself along with self harm and a long dark depression. These last 4 years have been horrendous however since she had DMT Lemtrada her last infusion Sept 19 It has transformed her. She still has stomach problems and fatigue and almost showing signs of being on the Spectrum as slightly autistic which we never noticed before along with anxiety level with depression but no way as detrimental to her safety as before. At one point I lost my daughter and our relationship was breaking down the aggression and anger of the diagnosis on top of the symptoms she had you can imagine we both considered suicide as there was no help no discussion no support until I called our GP after she broke down and said she has voices telling her to end her life she the was referred to the Mental Health team and had CBT. The relationship is a lot better however I feel guilty as my grandmother had MS and I was very ill during my pregnancy with Renal disease I also smoked as had terrible sickness and smoking helped me vomit so I could eat quickly. I was in hospital all of my pregnancy being pumped with drugs to stop me getting urinary infections. However every person and family that get a diagnosis of MS should sit this course it would of helped my tremendously.
Please feel free to contact me at [redacted] if you wish to discuss further Thank you for this insightful course I would like a certificate please :)

I found the course Understanding Multiple Sclerosis (MS) an excellent presentation with an array of Professionals one comes into contact with when living with MS.

Even though my diagnosis many many years ago and whilst I have let medical assistance lapse somewhat, having a resource such as this is an extremely helpful way to keep up to date particularly concerning disease modifying medications that where not available in my early days of living with ms. In terms of medication I would like included options such as Low dose Naltrexone, and medical cannabis researched and other alternatives to DMM.

In relations to work, I feel superannuation options, impact of reduced hours on payment and the likelihood of meeting with discrimination on disclosure could be covered. Welfare payment options briefly touched upon also.

A nuro phycologist discussing cognitive testing, cognitive impact on a persons functioning on a day to day level should be covered particularly when a high percentage of people with ms experience cognitive impairment causing life altering tragic impact on quality of life. Which is often experienced early after diagnosis and an invisible disability not understood or accepted by others.

Pain and trigeminal neuralgia would be helpful to touch on the subject.

Overall I am very grateful for the presentation and have recapped and refreshed my knowledge and experience of ms in a positive, easy way in the comfort of my lounge room at no cost on the hip pocket.

I also enjoyed doing the questionaries and seeing my results. A good way to make me pay attention.

Many thanks and much appreciation for a job well done.
Kindly Leanne

I highly recommend the Understanding Multiple Sclerosis (MS) free online course for any interested members of the society. The information is clear, concise, and relevant: while the digital format is logical and easy to follow. The course balances both theory and community perspectives. Via text and video the content is delivered by professionals working in the MS research and service sector, and by people with MS sharing their personal experiences.

The course is specific to the topic of MS, but it also has broader applications. For example, the course educates learners about the invisible symptoms associated with MS: While listening to people with MS talk I was reminded of people with Parkinson’s disease, who although they present no differently from the previous day, report an array of invisible symptoms. Thanks to the Understanding Multiple Sclerosis (MS) course, I have learned a great deal about the specifics of MS and living with MS, and had my preconceptions about the condition altered for the better. Also, I now have an enhanced sensitivity to an individual’s experience of symptoms, both visible and invisible, across a range of neurological conditions.

Belinda, personal care assistant

I am in my third year of near diagnosis of MS. This course has helped me appreciate why it is often a lengthy process to complete diagnosis. It helped me further understand symptoms I vaguely had glanced through just after talking of my diagnosis. I feel I now have a good handle on what the possibilities are for my future years and how to communicate more effectively with the medical team caring for me, my family and the wider community. The course content was delivered in easy to understand modules in a mix of videos and text plus animations and diagrams. I found the delivery by a mixture of professionals and people sharing their life experiences of having MS an excellent mode for learning. We had the opportunity to voluntarily be involved in a number of discussions on topics, they helped with the learning process but more importantly it provided interaction time with other course members, I found that interaction highly valuable. We also received appropriate positive feedback from our course moderator, so no need to feel no help at hand. There were also quizzes after each module that we could keep doing till we hit 100%, no failure but more importantly it helped concrete the information into the brain. For a first time course I thought it was brilliant. Thanks UTAS from Kristine Bradley.

I have just been diagnosed with Progressive MS after having it silent for 15 years. Given that there is limited medication I can take to stop the progress of this disease I decided to learn as much as I can in regard to it. I have found this course to be of great value in assisting me with this knowledge. The layout of the course has been well thought out. It is presented in an easy to follow format which addresses the many learning styles of the audience. I liked listening and viewing the audio format which was also followed up with printed version. Stories from persons with the disease are motivational as well as the clinical persons perspective. For anyone who has the disease or needs an understanding of it I would highly recommend undertaking the course.

Have just completed the Understanding MS course and have found it very interesting and informative. Although I have had remitting /relapsing MS since 2005 I now realise I have been in denial and have tried to ignore many of the symptoms that have troubled me. I have not asked the right questions in the past as I did not really know what to ask. This is not helped by casual comments from other people that I look fine. I feel a sense of relief and acknowledgement and am much better informed than I was before the course. I liked the mix of anatomy/ research/ interviews with a range of people with MS and professionals who work with them. The discussion on Myths of MS was of particular interest to me as was discussion of lifestyle factors I can have some control over. Whether you are someone who has MS are a carer or professional working with people with MS this course has something to offer you.

I thought this was very well presented. It covered a lot of topics . The quizzes were a good way to reflect on your learning .I was interested in the genetics and found that useful with that session. It answered the questions I had. The course has helped me understand MS , particularly the biology and understanding the root cause of the disease, signs and symptoms and I think it was good to interview people with MS and how they dealt with day to day challenges .
The interviewing style of the videos were educational and allowed me to develop knowledge around the topic. I like the way the topic was summarized at the end of the video.

I am not a fan of discussion boards but can see how this would be useful for some people to feel connected and engage more in the course material.

I would highly recommend for anyone touched by MS to undertake this course, whether you are a family member, a carer, friend or work colleague.
Understanding Multiple Sclerosis is an excellent well presented free course that is easy to understand. It covers a range of topics from the biological causes of MS and diagnosis, symptoms, risk factors to disease management.
The course was very informative and very engaging with activities and videos from experts and people living with MS.
The course has helped me understand the day to day issues people with MS face. I have a better insight in how better to communicate with not only people with MS but also in helping others understand the disease and its challenges. I now feel confident in supporting and assisting my loved one.

I took this course because my partner has MS, and to be a more effective support, I needed to get a much broader and deeper understanding about all things MS. This UTas./Menzies course provided that and more. The scope of the course impressed me: from biology & pathology (easily understandable) to perspectives from people living with MS about all manner of everyday coping issues (honest, eye-opening and heartfelt). I took advantage of the course's considerable resource links to go deeper into aspects that were important to me. The course was well sequenced and engaging. Two standouts for me were the problem-focused strategies for building resilience in the face of diagnosis or relapse, and the issue of employment, workplace and disclosure.

I complete a lot of training and particularly like on-line distance learning as l can work the training around my work and other commitments.
The Understanding Multiple Sclerosis Course through the University of Tasmania has been the best distance learning course l have ever had the privilege of undertaking. The sections are well explained and arranged with references to the previous sections where necessary. The video clips are helpful in communicating the facts and give the student a break from just reading the contents. Hearing from people with MS helped me to gain a better understanding of the disease and also helped me evaluate how l should communicate with people with MS.
The weekly spaced sections are close enough together for me to remember what I had already learned but far enough apart to not feel too much to do at once.
I am a community carer and mentioned to a service user with MS that I was taking the course and asked if l may ask her questions about her experience with MS. She was absolutely delighted that I was taking the time, my own time, to find out more about her condition. I will be passing the details to my colleagues here in Scotland, and will recommend this course to them. Thank you