In-home care has become a popular alternative to receiving care in a nursing home or assisted living facility because these care services allow seniors to age in their own homes.
However, one common limitation that many seniors who age in place experience is the inability to complete daily tasks. While home caregivers can take care of many daily tasks for seniors with physical or cognitive limitations, it still benefits seniors to be able to do daily activities themselves.
If you have a loved one that has difficulty with activities of daily living (ADL) due to a physical or mental impairment, they could benefit from occupational therapy services.
Assisting Hands Home Care provides occupational therapy for senior citizens aging in place in Fort Myers, FL. Our occupational therapists are licensed and accredited to help seniors dealing with physical or mental impairments improve their ability to perform daily tasks on their own. Occupational therapy can help your loved ones regain their independence and confidence.
Occupational Therapy vs Physical Therapy
There are many people that are confused about how occupational therapy is different from physical therapy.
The main difference is that occupational therapy aims to improve the patient’s ability to handle daily activities, or occupations, while physical therapy helps the patient regain strength and mobility.
Occupational therapists evaluate what the patient is having trouble with and makes recommendations that may help the patient better handle their daily activities on their own.
An example of this would be a recommendation to install grab bars in the bathtub to help seniors with limited mobility get in and out of the bathtub so they can bathe themselves.
Home Occupational Therapy from Assisting Hands
When you call Assisting Hands Home Care for occupational therapy, our therapist will come to the home of your loved one to evaluate which daily activities they are having trouble performing themselves.
The therapist will then assess the condition of your loved one and make recommendations that will help them complete daily activities themselves more easily. Our occupational therapist may offer recommendations like the following:
- How to conserve energy and ease joint pressure for those with arthritis
- Stretching exercises and the use of special tools to help those with limited mobility
- Help a person with an amputation learn how to take their prosthetic on and off
- Help a person with impaired vision adapt their home to reduce glare and other factors that may interrupt their vision
- Help a person suffering from memory loss organize their home with labels so they can find things more easily
Occupational Therapy for Dementia and Alzheimer’s Patients
Seniors suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease have a difficult time with daily activities due to memory loss and cognitive impairment.
Our occupational therapists can help seniors with memory loss better handle daily activities on their own through behavioral intervention.
As the patient reaches the later stages of memory loss, the occupational therapist will help simplify daily activities and use sensory stimulation to improve their quality of life.
Our occupational therapists may do the following to help those in the early stages of memory loss:
- Evaluate the home for safety and make adjustments so the home is safer
- Encourage your loved one to continue to perform their remaining skills to maintain some independence
- Help them get social and emotional assistance from support groups and caregivers
For seniors in the advanced stages of memory loss, our occupational therapists will provide the following:
- Assessment of the falling risk of your loved one
- Assessment and adjustment of the positions of the furniture including the bed, sofa, and chairs
- Recommendation of stretching programs to help reduce physical pain
If you believe that your loved ones in Fort Myers, FL could benefit from the services of an occupational therapist, contact Assisting Hands Home Care.
Our occupational therapists will assess your loved one’s condition and difficulties to create solutions that will help them perform more of their daily activities themselves.
