I’ve been using various tricks to get myself dressed in the morning post surgery. I have a good solid chair in my bedroom and I sit on it to put on my underwear and any trousers or shorts. I find I can’t balance sufficiently to put them on standing up. That could be partly Parkies and partly post operative weakness.
It got me to thinking about dressing for a person with Parkies and their support team. Perhaps when in the early stages, it might be a good idea to look at the type of clothing the PWP usually wears and consider what might need to be changed in time. For instance, if a PWP always wears button up shirts – which often have very small buttons – perhaps it might be a good idea to gradually get them used to wearing t-shirts and sweatshirts. The small buttons of a shirt can quickly cause frustration both for the PWP and anyone who might assist them. Creating familarity with a different mode of dressing, might make things easier in the future. They can of course choose to predominantly wear button up shirts, but if they will also agree to wear t-shirts and sweatshirts if they need to change to this more permanently, it may be more acceptable.
Another clothing item which might be tricky in the future is jeans. My husband is definitely a jeans and shorts type of guy. If someone were to need to help him in the future it would be difficult to assist him to dress in jeans. By gradually introducing things like track pants into their routine dressing – not getting rid of jeans just yet – at least the idea of track pants would hopefully be reasonably acceptable. If they have never worn them up until the time they become necessary, then this could make them feel uncomfortable as this will be a completely strange mode of dressing. Should there be dementia present, then reasoning them away from wearing jeans might be tricky.
Now, the trickiest clothing item for women would have to be putting on a bra. This can be difficult for women, who might need to learn new techniques. They may need to learn to do up their bra in the front and then turn it round and put the shoulder straps on. I have always done it that way for as long as I can remember. I don’t know how people can do it up behind them. Am I strange that this is the way I do it, with the bra round the front first to fasten?
Modifying clothing earlier can make the routine of dressing much simpler. It may even prolong the PWP’s ability to independently dress themselves, which is important.
Familiarity with a different style of clothing may be a simple way of avoiding distress in the future when it becomes necessary to make the change.
My journey with Parkinsons 