As a carer, it is important to promote independence of the person you are caring for. Amy-Pearl works for Carers WA and has experience using the 'Everything you do for me, you take from me' concept and shares her learnings with us and how she applied this in her own caring role.

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In this episode, Hilary O’Connell has invited Alison Vella, Quality and Practice Lead at Aspire4Life to join her to discuss the ‘why’ and ‘what’ of reablement, and what it can look like, including how to encourage clients to implement new habits and ideas to support their long-term independence.

The essence of reablement for Alison means: “encouraging and supporting someone to feel happy and satisfied, to get back to where they were or move ahead to where they want to be. That might be socially, functionally, or emotionally, it can be about their confidence and allowing them more freedom to be more independent.”

Hilary and Alison also discuss the importance of considering all areas of wellness and reablement as a holistic approach, including emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and environmental wellbeing and health.

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In this episode, Hilary O’Connell and Dr. Elissa Burton, Associate Professor at Curtin University, School of Allied Health, discuss how reablement and restorative short-term care improve clients’ quality of lives.

This model gives clients the opportunity to work out ways to improve mental and physical function, rebuild skills they’ve lost, and equip them with support so they can reach their goals and live independently at home for as long as possible.

“I’ve done a lot of work with older people in their 90’s and even their 100’s, which are looking at physical activity programs, strength and balance training, and they’ve seen great improvements, over an 8–12 week period.” Dr. Burton says. Hilary and Dr. Burton also discuss the upcoming Home Support Program, and why a successful reablement and restorative care program starts with the assessor and service provider.

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In this episode, Hilary O’Connell and Laura Coleman, Practice Advisor for aged care and dementia at Avivo, discuss what short-term reablement means in practice, and how it can encourage older people to regain and maintain their independence.  

“Reablement for me means that people actually have an opportunity to decide what’s next for them. They may only need support for a very short time to get over an injury, so that is their opportunity. They don’t have to lock in for the rest of their lives to get support. And that’s really important…

… It helps a customer feel encouraged, this is possible, I can do it, I can get back; to where I was before my injury. So, it is a way of encouraging people to be positive, and not being independent by people. It can only be good.” Coleman says. O’Connell and Coleman also discuss practical examples of everyday reablement with clients, and how it is different to domestic care

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In this episode, Hilary O’Connell is joined by Angie Slater, Director of Home Care and Retirement Living at Juniper.

Together they discuss how reablement assists older people’s physical, mental, and social health and wellbeing, and how this model is working with each individual client to support their individual goals.

When describing reablement, Angie says: “You have to really understand what is motivating and meaningful to someone. To be able to see what people’s short-term goals and aspirations may be. What is stopping them from achieving them currently?…

…I think the biggest thing about this approach is that it’s incredibly empowering for older people. It puts choice and control in their hands.”

Hilary and Angie also discuss how reablement can help people reduce the fear of falling, build their confidence and reclaim their independence, control, and quality of life.

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In this episode, Hilary O’Connell has invited Gill Lewin, a member of the Australian Government Council of Elders, and adjunct professor at Curtin University.

Together they discuss the research and evidence behind reablement and short-term restorative care, and how it can help older people increase their quality of life and enable them to live more independent lives.

“Reablement most importantly is a model about helping people be what they want to be, the best person they are.” Gill says.

Hilary and Gill also discuss how the reablement approach is highly individual and structured to support each client’s personal goals, by looking at all aspects of a client’s current life, and what they aspire to do moving forward.

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In this episode, Hilary O’Connell has invited Nicola Seafield, Allied Health and Short-Term Restorative Care Program team lead at MercyCare.

Together they discuss what short-term reablement means in practice, how to implement this model daily, and the positive outcomes it brings in terms of building clients’ confidence and empowering them to change their current circumstances.  

“It is an opportunity to work with a client to improve their quality of life, find out what is important to them functionally, emotionally and spiritually so we can deliver a positive outcome.” Nicola says when describing reablement.

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In this episode, Hilary O’Connell has a chat with Professor Peter Gore, Professor of practice in ageing and vitality at the Population Health Science Institute at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. Peter’s work involves aged-related functional decline and the malleability of ageing. 

He has over 33 years of experience in medical product design. One of the tools Peter has developed with his company ADL Smartcare, is the LifeCurve™, which helps people understand how they are ageing and how they can take action toward improving their healthy ageing journey.

Together they discuss what healthy ageing looks like, the importance of sharing trustworthy information with an ageing population and aged care service providers, to change attitudes towards ageing and bring practical examples and tools to improve independence to have more ‘good days’. 

Discover more reablement resources at keepable.com.au