Self care

Things to talk through with your family/ carers/ support team:

• Do you have a personal care routine?
• When do you normally do your personal care routine? (e.g. morning/ afternoon/ evening)
• Do you use any equipment in the bathroom? (e.g. bath board/ toilet frame/ toilet seat/ handrails)
• Struggling with a task? Can it be broken down into smaller chunks?
• Do you think you need equipment to help you with self care?

Try breaking down a self care activity to help guide each step. Find an example below for how you might break down washing your hair in the shower.

For further information on support in self care activities please contact the Occupational Therapy department on 01383 565223.

Hair Washing

“An individual was having trouble remembering the steps for washing their hair. This meant that the person required a lot of support from their carer for help. Occupational Therapy worked with them to make a hair washing easy-read guide using words and pictures. With practice the stages of the easy-read helped develop a routine for how to complete each step. The easy-read was laminated and placed on the wall of the shower.”

Learning Disability Occupational Therapist