Dementia Therapy Service

Therapists providing home visits in Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire & Taunton

Our Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists offer a specialist Dementia Therapy Service, helping people to live well at all stages of their journey with Dementia

Individual, individual, individual! We cannot emphasise the importance of individualised care for people living with a diagnosis of dementia. Therapists are expert at assessing the individual and providing a personalised approach to enhance the person’s quality of life and wellbeing, helping them achieve their goals and engage in meaningful activity. Here are how different therapists can help people who live with dementia: Alzheimer Scotland.

What is dementia?

There are different types of dementia, some of which are more common than others. The most common types include Vascular Dementia, Alzheimer’s and Dementia with Lewy bodies. It is possible to have a mix of different types.

The types of dementia represent different disease processes which affect the nerve cells in the brain, getting worse over time. The symptoms include:

memory loss

confusion and needing help with daily tasks

problems with language and understanding

changes in behaviour

(Alzheimer’s Society)

How can our specialist therapists help?

We can help you live with better quality of life with dementia. We also help your support network including carers, family, close friends and professionals to support you. No matter where you live; in your own home or in a care home, we can support you and your network every step of the way. For people living at home there are often concerns about safety and comfort which we can assess thoroughly and create a bespoke plan to manage risk and help you stay at home for as long as possible. If the time comes that you do need to transition to a more supported living environment, we can help navigate this process. Once in a care home, we also work to assess any issues there may be with the environment, manual handling, approach of staff to the individual, improve engagement in meaningful activity, support with adjustments and equipment and much more.

Enabling people to live at home for as long as possible

We consider the following within our thorough assessment process:

Home environment

Safety

Equipment

Falls prevention

Adaptations

Memory strategies

Working with family/carers

Manual handling

Increasing engagement in meaningful daily activities.

We understand that dementia affects people’s ability to enjoy activities they may have in the past. We help people play to their strengths and current level of ability. Our specialist therapists can identify what the current needs are with the person and adapt the activity according to their level of ability at the time. In addition, we understand that as the disease progresses, this adaptation to level of ability needs continuous monitoring. What works today, may not work next week.

Exercise and dementia - use it or lose it!

It is important for people living with dementia to remain active and able to enjoy movement and daily activities. The way for people to stay active who have cognitive impairment, and for those who do not, is to move. It’s so important to have the opportunity to continue moving joints, working muscles, challenging balance systems. The ethos of ‘use it or lose it’ is fundamental. Movement makes us feel good, enables us to be independent and do activities we enjoy.

As we age we are at greater risk of falls but for someone living with dementia the risks are higher. As we know that exercise helps reduce the risk of falls, it is clear that exercise should be a key component of the daily life of someone who has dementia.

However, many studies showing the benefits of exercise exclude participants with cognitive impairment. There is a bias in society to exclude people living with dementia to be active and to exercise. In addition, hospitals and care settings record the number of falls and staff tend to be risk-avoidant. Often, we see people who have not been encouraged to get up and move around due to the risk that they may fall and sustain an injury. But this fear of falling becomes a downward spiral of inactivity and fear. So the person very quickly becomes deconditioned and then struggles to stand or walk safely.

Our therapists are passionate about including exercise into the daily life of people who have dementia. It may not be possible for them to remember the exercises or to do them by themselves, but if family and care-givers can support them then they are giving that person the chance to stay mobile, active and independent for longer.

Examples of simple exercises for people living with dementia can be found here.

‘ My mother, who is a resident in a care home, had problems with her chair, some falls, and moving and handling. Faye, supported by Kelly (both from Severn Physiotherapy) provided a wide ranging, thorough and insightful assessment in the home, carefully and compassionately assessing our mother and the staff handling her over a 2 hour period. Faye also assessed her needs for a suitable chair in great detail. The resulting report has been very useful in helping us decide on a suitable chair, and in helping staff with appropriate moving and handling, including the use of a hoist. These can be difficult issues for both care home residents and staff, and Faye conducted the assessment sensitively, involving both my mother and the staff appropriately in the process. I would thoroughly recommend Severn Physiotherapy to anyone in a similar position, and I am sure their other services are equally as good.’

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