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:

 

 

 

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:

 

 

 

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.

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