Adaptive Open Back Tops

As a caregiver, you want to see your patient thrive. You want to see them succeed in everyday life. As people age, mobility issues become the daily struggle of life. Today we will be focusing on limited arm and upper body mobility and how we can help ease the struggle that becomes of every day dressing. Adaptive open back tops are a wonderful way that a caregiver can use in assisted dressing, to help eliminate the struggle of dressing.

An adaptive open back top by Silvert’s Adaptive Clothing and Footwear is designed to ease the struggle of everyday dressing.

How they work:

An adaptive top opens up completely at the back. This top can then be put on by putting the arms through the arm holes and simply sliding the top on and around to the back. Once the top is placed from the front there are two sets of domed snaps that are on either shoulder. The domes are snapped into place and the top is on and secured. Snaps are placed on shoulders in order to reduce the risk of pressure points when an individual is sitting or lying down. There are two sets of domes which give the top a generous overlap to provide dignity for the wearer. This way you don’t have to worry about any part of your back showing, even if you have a small slouch or hunch. Adaptive tops are as simple as that. No more struggling through small neck holes. You can now rest your arms, putting the adaptive tops on without having to lift arms. For a visual representation, click here.

How it helps the caregiver:

This is an immense help to the caregiver for two reasons; time and effort.

Effort:

Let’s start with effort; with an adaptive top, the daily struggle of dressing can be reduced immensely if not entirely. With no more small neck holes, you are able to put the top of quickly and efficiently. This is not only less of a struggle for you, but a great way to find some peace of mind. Often caregivers will go back and forth when it comes to how often they change a patient or a loved one. On one hand, you want to keep their life normal, and change them out of pyjamas and into daily clothes and back into pyjamas. But by changing in and out of clothes, one tends to worry about if they are hurting them by moving them so much, and it’s time and stress on yourself as well. If you don’t change them you feel poorly that they have to sit in pyjamas all day. Adaptive clothing provides the perfect solution by creating options where you can change a loved one without causing further injury.

Time:

With the new added ease of putting adaptive tops on, it will cut the daily dressing routine in half. With this time the caregiver has more time to pay attention to other tasks of the day. If you are a family caregiver, it allows you to spend some more time in the morning and night on yourself. It is important as a family caregiver to make sure that you are making time for yourself as well. As a professional caregiver having more efficiency in your morning routine will allow you to spend more time with each resident during the day.

How it helps the wearer:

The individual getting dressed can now have their clothes put on without pain. If you are the family caregiver, you may feel bad when dressing a loved one, because they seem to be in pain. Adaptive tops cut the need to struggle through a small neck hole out. You don’t have to raise any arms in putting adaptive tops on, making these tops perfect for limited mobility issues. The generous overlap of the adaptive top will leave the individual feeling dignified but comfortable. Adaptive tops come in both men’s and women’s, with many colours and different patterns. This way everyone can find their own style while still being comfortable.

Trying to find the perfect adaptations can be hard. With each disability comes a different set of adaptive needs. So how do you know if you need an adaptive top? Simple, if you know someone, or if you are someone that struggles to put their shirt on in the morning, and receives help, this shirt can be helpful for you. Silvert’s Adaptive Clothing & Footwear provides tops as well as bottoms to help individuals dress more easily.

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