Identify the skills and tasks that Tom has difficulty with

• Skills - physical: walking long distances, carrying heavy objects, managing fatigue/ tiredness, left-side weakness
• Skills - cognitive: planning and organising, especially with time management
  behaviours- becoming frustrated and having aggressive outbursts
• Tasks: completing household chores, meal preparation, time management

2. What are some of the strategies you might use to help Tom manage these difficulties?

Assist Tom to:

• identify household tasks that need to be completed and the frequency they need to be completed
• create a weekly timetable and evenly spread household tasks across the week to manage fatigue
• alternate heavy tasks and lighter tasks in timetable
• add regular rest periods into the weekly timetable
• use a diary to record future appointments and to do lists, this can then be referred to when compiling timetable each week
• sit down to complete chores, where possible
• simplify tasks where possible, eg vacuuming – only vacuum lounge one day then bedroom the following day

Other strategies:

• when cooking dinner meal, cook extra to have as leftovers the next day, this will help manage fatigue
• to address left sided weakness – look at use of one-handed equipment, modification to task or environment so only one hand needed to complete task, buy frozen chopped vegies/ sliced cheese etc

Find out whether Occupational Therapy is involved as they will be able to assist further in identifying ways to help Tom and organising equipment that may be required.

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