Try: #discuss home modification needs with physicians and physical therapists a doctor’s prescription for some adaptive equipment may allow insurance to cover part or all of its cost #before being discharged from a care facility with a new level of physical impairment ask for an evaluation of your home by a physical therapist to assess what equipment or training is needed to allow safe independent functioning at home this would include a look at where ramps might be most effective #before making permanent modifications to the home consider using a ready-made ramp or an incline platform to improve the home’s accessibility they may save you time space or money #ready-made ramps can be found in many lengths styles and price ranges some are fairly portable while others can be left in place inside or outside the home while federal access guidelines suggest a 1 12 slope ration many people who push wheelchairs find a gentler slope 1 20 easier to manage #an incline platform lift can take a cr and wheelchair up and down a staircase or a few steps indoor or outdoor installation is possible the staircase must have one load-bearing wall to support the lift the starting price for these lifts is usually several thousand dollars #lift and ramp models can be viewed in accessible equipment catalogs located online in physical rehabilitation centers and rehab units and in assistive technology publications found in these places and in libraries

Materials: Ready-made ramp s incline platform lift

Categories: Medical Physical, Personal, Mobility, Needs Much Assistance, Independence, No Supervision

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*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: #keeping things convenient for the cr by placing items where they can be seen or picked up without the cr using the body’s weaker side is unhelpful in the long run #when visiting sit to the cr’s weaker side to encourage the cr to turn to that side #place some items on the weaker side of the cr as well to encourage the cr to pay attention to objects or activity on that side of the boy if necessary remind the cr that those items the remote a snack a letter for example are there

Materials: n/a

Categories: Medical Physical, Mobility, Needs Some Assistance, Independence, Some Supervision, Vision, So-So Vision, Cognitive Awareness, Fully Aware, Somewhat Aware

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*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Purchase toast tongs at a kitchen specialty department in a store or online they are wooden or bamboo tongs designed to lift toast from toaster alternatively buy wooden skewer sticks used for cooking shish kabobs and keep one near the toaster they are sold many-to-the-package in kitchen supply departments use the pointed end of the stick to skewer the toast and lift it from the toaster replace the stick after several uses the toast tongs may be easier for most people to manipulate the skewer sticks may be more difficult for a person with low vision or tremors to use

Materials: Bamboo or wooden toast tongs or wooden skewer sticks used for cooking shish kabobs

Categories: Medical Physical

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*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: #assign colors for each time medications need to be taken for example green for morning yellow for noon and blue for evening #put colored dots on the medicine bottles corresponding to the time of day each medication is to be taken #after the medicine is taken turn the bottle over if the medicine is to be taken again that day put a corresponding colored dot on the bottom of the prescription bottle #if vision is slightly poor use a white adhesive sticker on the top and bottom of the pill bottles to draw dots on the white background will show the colors in higher contrast #use the notebook to keep track of medication times and place a check mark by the times medication has been taken this may also help a cr stay mindful of what has been taken when

Materials: Medicine bottles colored markers white adhesive stickers if needed notebook

Categories: Medical Physical, Vision, Good Vision, Cognitive Awareness, Fully Aware, Long-Term Memory, Good L T Memory, So-So L T Memory, Poor L T Memory, Short-Term Memory, Good S T Memory, So-So S T Memory, Poor S T Memory

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*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: #make sure the cr’s doctor says it’s okay to start exercises that raise arms above the head #if the doctor says yes begin the following exercises #lie down with hands about shoulder-width apart holding the stick in both hands keep elbows straight and slowly raise the stick over the head then bring the hands forward again repeat as tolerable #adjust the width of the hands on the stick if necessary for comfort # once the cr can do this exercise while lying down try it while standing up #for another way to improve mobility try the following stand in frond of a wall and walk fingers up the wall as high as possible pretend to climb a ladder with the hands make several tries and try to go a little further up the wall each time #try doing each of the three exercises ten times per session building up from one to three sessions a day as the ability to raise the arms improves increase the number of exercises per session

Materials: Stick or a broomstick golf club or dowel rod wall or door frame

Categories: Medical Physical, Female, Mobility, Mobile, Needs Some Assistance, Independence, No Supervision, Some Supervision, Cognitive Awareness, Fully Aware, Somewhat Aware

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*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: #sit with your feet flat on the floor #cross your arms over your chest #raise one leg while bending your torso forward build up to doing this 20 times #raise the other leg bend forward and repeat do as many times as possible until you can do it 20 times easily #repeat the exercise to both legs two or three times a day each time trying to reach 20 lifts per leg when you are able to do 20 lifts per leg three times a day increase the number of leg lifts #when this exercise feels too easy ask your doctor for additional exercises to strengthen your legs and lower body

Materials: Chair or sofa

Categories: Medical Physical, Mobility, Mobile, Needs Some Assistance, Independence, No Supervision, Cognitive Awareness, Fully Aware, Somewhat Aware

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*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: #stand straight with feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent or sit upright in a straight back chair #take the 2 small cans or the dumbbells and place one in the palm of each hand wrapping your fingers around them #extend your arms down to the sides of your body #now bend your arms at the elbows and hold them up to your chest counting to 5 next lower your arms to your thighs and hold for 5 seconds raise and lower the weights 10 times do this exercise once a day to increase your upper body strength as you get stronger increase the number of times you lift the weights and increase the number of times per day you exercise

Materials: 2 small cans of vegetables or two 2-lb dumbbells chair optional

Categories: Medical Physical, Mobility, Mobile, Needs Some Assistance, Cognitive Awareness, Fully Aware, Somewhat Aware

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*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: Of home materials adhesive stair gripper scissors 2 different colors of highly contrasting fluorescent spray paint for example red and yellow tape measure newspaper try #measure the length of one of the steps multiply this by the number of strips to be put on each step 1 – 2 strips then multiply this measurement by the number of steps this will tell you how much stair gripper to buy #cut the total number of strips of stair gripper #spread the strips out on newspaper in a well-ventilated area #working on one step at a time lightly spray paint the strips and allow them to dry #stick the strips to the edge of each stair alternate the colors on the steps this will help the cr tell the steps apart #once all the steps are done help the cr practice going up and down the steps

Materials: 2 small cans of vegetables or two 2-lb dumbbells chair optional

Categories: Medical Physical, Mobility, Mobile, Needs Some Assistance, Needs Much Assistance, Independence, No Supervision, Some Supervision, Maximum Supervision, Vision, Poor Vision, Cognitive Awareness, Fully Aware, Somewhat Aware

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*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: #gather prescription bottles and sort the bottles according to what conditions they are for #make a code that matches a specific type of sticker picture heart bone etc to a specific medical condition the prescriptions treat for example place heart stickers on the blood pressure and cholesterol prescription bottles and place bone stickers on bottles for bone health you can find stickers of skeletons hearts etc at arts and craft stores and scrapbook material suppliers #if appropriate stickers are not available draw on the bottles with the markers for example draw a red heart on the blood pressure and cholesterol bottles and draw black bones on the bone health prescription #review the bottles and any new medications with the cr every month and label them accordingly #the purpose of this tip is to help crs understand why they are taking certain medications the pictures may reinforce for the cr the importance of taking the medications

Materials: Prescription bottles stickers that correspond to conditions colored markers

Categories: Medical Physical, Mobility, Needs Some Assistance, Independence, No Supervision, Some Supervision, Vision, Good Vision, Cognitive Awareness, Fully Aware, Somewhat Aware

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*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed

Try: #contact a local nursing home or assisted living facility and speak to the activity director explain what you would like to make and ask if the weights would be used for light activity exercise by residents if you donate them make sure you find a place that says yes before doing the work #make a mixture of the sand and lead weights and weight out 8 oz 12 oz and 16 oz portions of the mixture as you weight out each portion add glue to hold each measure together put the mixture into a locking plastic bag and write the weight on the bag with the marker # let the bags of mixture dry #cut an opening on the underside of each of the small stuffed animals and insert one baggy full of mixture into each immediately after putting the mixture in securely tie a ribbon around the animals’ neck that coordinates with the weight for example green ribbon for 8 oz weights red ribbon for 12 oz weights and white ribbon for 16 oz weights # after making sure the baggies are centered in the small stuffed animals stitch each slit closed with the needle and thread #these weighted stuffed animals can also be used as free-standing weights to assist in weight training

Materials: Small stuffed animals lead weights sand plastic ziploc bags glue scale scissors ribbon two or three colors needle and thread permanent marker

Categories: Medical Physical, Mobility, Mobile, Independence, No Supervision, Vision, Good Vision, Cognitive Awareness, Fully Aware

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*This information is listed as a Tip and is not explicitly medically licensed