Adapting Bedrooms

In August, we shared ways to adapt your kitchen for a senior or a person with disabilities. This month, we’d like to share some adaptations that can be made for another room in the house – the bedroom! Depending on how big your house is, if it has more than one floor, or what your budget allows, making just some of these changes can give both a loved one and a caregiver some necessary peace of mind. These changes might also apply to other rooms in the house.

·        Labels: Labels are helpful for everyone, no matter what the room. Add labels to dresser drawers, closet storage, etc. to make things easy to find. We also recommend creating “homes” for things, like a basket for remote controllers, or a basket for books, so that there is a “go-to” place to find what you need. You just have to make sure your loved one puts things back!

·        Organizing cords: Ensure that electric cords are labeled and out of the way. You may need to tape them to the wall or floor with duct tape to prevent your loved one from tripping.

·         Moving the bedroom: The bedroom will need to be close to the bathroom or easily accessible. This might mean moving the bed and bedroom storage into your living room, or converting the dining room into a new bedroom. To close off doorways, add a curtain rod above doorways with simple fabric or curtains to create privacy if a door doesn’t already exist. You’ll want to keep doorways wide for equipment, wheelchairs, etc., and sometimes doors can restrict the passageway.

·        Light switches: If you can’t move light switches to a convenient place, think about adding a remote-controlled light switch device. These are affordable options and a convenient way for people to manage the light in their room without having to move. Check the kinds of light switches on lamps and think about whether or not weak or arthritic hands have the ability to turn switches or “clap on” lights.

·        Alarm clocks: Depending on your loved one’s sleep habits, you may need to invest in a louder alarm or even a bed shaker that lightly vibrates the mattress.

·       Specialized furniture: Does your loved one need a special bed or chair? Or maybe they need a bed rail to keep them in bed at night, or support to get out? Check in with your healthcare provider on these needs before you invest in these devices.

Before making any big (or even small) changes to your home, you can contact an Occupational Therapist. These professionals can help you assess your needs and give you advice on adapting your loved one’s sleeping and living arrangements.

Movie Review: Nebraska

Nebraska, directed by Alexander Payne, tells the story of Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) and his family trying to navigate Woody’s dementia. Will Forte co-stars as David, Woody’s son, and the narrative follows them on an ill-fated trip to Lincoln, Nebraska. Woody has recently received a letter from a company that tells him he has won a million dollars, and he needs to travel to Lincoln to collect it. The letter is obviously a scam, and despite the protests of David, other son Ross (Bob Odenkirk), and wife Kate (June Squibb), Woody insists on Nebraska or bust – he wants his money.
 
The movie opens with Woody wandering down a busy street; what is going on? Why does Woody look so confused? Why would he fall for such an obvious scam? Anyone who has cared for someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s will recognize Bruce Dern’s facial expression immediately. Dern’s performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for good reason – he perfectly inhabits the mental and physical state of dementia: his blank stares are haunting, his ramblings often contain very little logic, and his stubbornness is downright frustrating. After Woody is found walking toward Lincoln twice more, and after David and Ross debate the pros and cons of putting him in a retirement home, David decides to indulge his father’s wish to go to Lincoln.

What follows is a movie heavily steeped in themes intensely familiar to the caregiver of dementia. Woody is forgetful, confused easily, and his unpredictable behavior infuriates his son. Yet, the pulse of this storyline is the love and patience David has for his father. He knows their time together is finite, and he enjoys uncovering things about his father he never knew. There is a particularly moving scene that shows David discovering the full impact that the Korean War had on Woody.

Nebraska is an honest film. It illustrates the emotional toll that caregiving can exact on a family. How are they going to afford the retirement home? What is mom going to do when she is left alone? At what point does caregiving distract TOO much from work? Just what the heck are we supposed to be doing? These are difficult questions, and, like real life, Nebraska provides no easy answers – caregiving is difficult and often there are no right answers, just the ones that make the most sense. But the director also gifts us with some moments that remind us of the true joys of family and caregiving. If you are a caregiver, this is a movie worth watching, and you will walk away with a few chuckles, a newfound respect for Will Forte’s acting chops, and a sense that you are not alone.