Reablement and Rehabilitation in Aged Care
What is reablement?
Reablement is an approach to care designed to maximise your function and independence. The aim of reablement is to help people who have lost some level of function in the short or long term to regain their confidence and be able to return to participating in the activities they enjoy.
It’s all about choice and independence - being able to do the things you like, when you want and in a way that you choose.
How does reablement work?
Reablement is not just a service, but a philosophy that emphasises active participation in tasks and activities. For Aunty Grace as a provider, Reablement is all about understanding which things you enjoy doing, then finding ways to help you get back to doing them.
Sometimes Reablement is confused with Maintenance exercise – activities designed to maintain the function and movement you already have. While any type of Maintenance activity or general exercise is always great to do, Reablement has the specific goal of restoring function or activity levels that you may have lost – getting you back to doing the things that you love.
Reablement can involve a range of different things, sometimes combining different activities into a Reablement program:
- Setting goals around the activities you would like to do and how you want to live your life. For example, you may have noticed that you can’t walk as far as before or get outside the house as much as you used to. A reablement program aims to restore your previous capacity
- Providing assistance so you can still do the things you want, just with some help. For example, you may enjoy cooking but no longer feel confident shopping for groceries or preparing food on your own. By having someone accompany you to the shops and in the kitchen, you can build back your confidence until you feel more comfortable doing things on your own or with minimal help
- Modifying your home environment or using equipment to help you do the same things you’ve always done, in a safer or easier way. For example, getting grab-rails or assistive seating installed in your bathroom can mean that you can continue to safely use the shower on your own
What about rehabilitation?
A reablement approach can often include rehabilitation to restore function and independence. While rehabilitation is not an essential part of reablement, rehabilitation can help to address the limiting factors that are stopping you from doing the things you love.
Rehabilitation can include specific exercise or therapy to restore strength and movement immediately following an injury or illness, or a supervised, graduated exercise program to build capacity in response to a long-term illness or decline in health. It’s important to remember that rehabilitation and exercise can help at any time, not just after an injury or being in hospital.
For example, if you’re feeling less steady on your feet or finding yourself easily out of breath, a Physiotherapist could design and supervise a functional exercise program designed to strengthen your muscles and joints and improve your balance, so that you can move about more confidently inside and outside the house.
What can I do myself?
The whole idea of reablement is helping you to do things for yourself. A good reablement program will encourage you to try things and progress in your abilities, while also doing things in a gradual and safe way to minimise risk.
As a general guide, here are some things you can try:
- Stay active - as much as you feel safe and able to do so. Any activity is good activity, so focus on doing what you can, while you build towards doing what you want
- Set goals – creating some goals that are focused on the things that really matter to you will help to guide the reablement process, keep you motivated and track your progress. Make sure your goals focus on what you can do, more so than how you do it. While many people are reluctant to get help or use aids and equipment, ask yourself – does it really matter how I accomplish my goals, if it means I get to spend time doing things I love with the people I choose?
- Get professional help – the input of a qualified health professional or Care Manager is always useful in helping you to plan a reablement program, and get you to your goals faster
How do I get help?
If you want to learn more about reablement, or you’ve already decided you would like to get some help with doing the things you enjoy, call and speak with one of our friendly Home Care Experts or your Care Manager. They can talk with you about getting support with your activities from one of our carers, as well as making use of our health professionals to help you improve and maintain your independence.
