What Adaptive Devices, are Available for a Senior with Parkinson’s Disease to Help with Mealtime?
When living with Parkinson’s disease, your aging parent will experience challenges and difficulties in completing basic daily tasks. This does not mean that they are struggling with cognitive deficiencies or that they are no longer able to manage any of their needs on their own. It simply means that they, and you as their family caregiver, need to take further steps to help them to adapt to their challenges, change the way that they approach tasks, and maintain as much independence as possible as they progress through the disease.
Home Health Care in Farmington Hills MI: Adaptive Devices For Parkinson’s
One such challenge is feeding themselves and during meal time. Issues with mobility, tremors, and control issues can make it difficult for your aging parent to eat on their own, but there are adaptive devices available that can help them to regain this independence.
Adaptive devices that are available for an elderly adult with Parkinson’s disease to use during mealtime include:
- Adaptive cutting boards feature rubberized strips that prevent them from slipping. Many also have sides that prevent food from falling off the edges.
- Weighted knives can provide greater control for those who experience tremors.
- Electric knives complete jobs faster and can counteract tremors for more confident cutting.
- Utensils featuring wider, heavier handles for better grip. They also often feature heads that are attached at an angle to make getting them into their mouths easier for those who deal with mobility issues.
- Adaptive dishes featuring suction cups on the bottom to hold them securely to the table. This can make it easier for them to eat without pushing the dishes around.
- Many adaptive dishes also feature walls on the back to make it easier to gather food on the spoon or fork.
- Look for cups that are spill-proof so that they do not spill if tipped over.
How can elderly care help?
If your aging parent has developed new challenges and limitations, your own schedule or abilities have changed and you can no longer give them the care that they need, or you simply feel that they would benefit from more diversified care, now may be the time to consider elderly care. And elderly home care services provider can tailor a set of highly personalized services specifically to your parents as an individual.
This means that they can give them the type of care, assistance, and support that they need to manage their challenges and limitations while also supporting a lifestyle that is as active, independent, and fulfilling as possible as they age in place.
Through these services, your senior can remain happier, safer, and healthier while you have more time, energy, and flexibility to manage at the other needs in your life. This can be particularly beneficial if you are part of the sandwich generation caring for your aging parent as well as your children, or if your parent’s challenges are more extensive than you feel capable of managing comfortably and successfully.
If you are considering hiring Home Health Care in Farmington Hills, MI, contact the caring staff at No Place Like Home Health, LLC today. Call (734) 259-4200.
Source:
www.parkinson.org
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