Making a Bedroom Safer for a Stroke Survivor

Maximizing a stroke survivor's safety and comfort while dressing

For someone who's survived a stroke, the bedroom is his sanctuary. By setting up this room to maximize his independence, you can give him a sense of privacy and comfort -- while still making sure he's safe.

Aids for getting dressed:

• Make sure the stroke survivor can easily reach and pick out his clothing. You can replace dressers or chests of drawers with a storage unit that has open compartments. Organize the storage unit so the most frequently worn clothes are the easiest to reach. You can also lower the bar in his closet so he can reach items on hangers.
• Adapt his wardrobe to make it easier for him to dress himself. Choose loose-fitting pants with elastic waistbands and shirts that pull on easily or fasten in the front. Replace buttons and zippers with Velcro fasteners or snaps, and shoelaces with coiled elastic laces. (Find them online by searching for curly elastic shoe laces.)
• Dressing aids can be invaluable. You can find these through stores or websites that sell adaptive products.
• Zipper pulls fasten onto the end of a zipper to make it easier to pull up or down. You can tie a string in a loop on the end of a zipper, or buy a commercially available version. (Example)
• A button hook enables him to fasten buttons with one hand. (Example)
• A dressing stick has a hook on one end so he can pull items down from a closet and pull on clothing. (Example)
• A long-handled shoe horn makes it easier to slip on shoes. (Example)