Understanding Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

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

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 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.

The Understanding MS online course is an excellent and well-structured resource that provides a clear and comprehensive overview of multiple sclerosis. As a medical doctor, I found the course incredibly valuable—not only for refreshing clinical knowledge but also for gaining a deeper appreciation of the lived experience of people with MS.

The combination of engaging videos, well-written text, informative quizzes, and real-life stories made the learning process both effective and meaningful. I particularly appreciated how complex topics like the biology and pathology of MS were explained in a way that was accessible without oversimplifying.

The course also highlighted the importance of a multidisciplinary approach and emphasized the human side of care, which is often overlooked in clinical training.

I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in learning about MS—whether you're a healthcare professional, caregiver, or someone wanting to understand the condition better.

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

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.