This is the about the help that you need, most days, to:
- cut food into pieces,
- get food and drink to your mouth,
- and chew and swallow food and drink.
And to do it:
- safely,
- in a reasonable time – no more than twice as long as a person without a disability would take,
- whenever you need to in the day,
- without too much pain, fatigue, dizziness, confusion, need for recovery.
The Questions:
Answer any of the following questions that apply to you. This will tell the decision maker everything that they need to know:
Aids: What things do you use to eat, that you would not need to use if you did not have your health condition or disability.
Explain some aids you need, and how you use them?
Prompting: While you are eating do you usually need someone to prompt, you, remind you, encourage you, or explain things to you? If so, which and why?
Physical Help: Would you usually need another person to cut up your food, or to help you get food and drink to your mouth? If so, explain more?
Safety: Would you need someone with you all the time that you were eating, to keep you safe? If so, why?
Can’t do it: Is it true that even with all the help that you have described above, you:
- still couldn’t eat safely?
- still couldn’t eat in a reasonable time?
If so, why?
Tube Feeding: Do you use parenteral or enteral tube feeding? If so, explain what help you need to use it:
Download these questions in a word file
Example – Sarah
Prompting:
Since her dementia started, Sarah forgets to eat and has no appetite. She can get food into her mouth and chew and swallow it, but she won’t do it, unless I sit prompting her and encouraging her.
Physical Help:
I always cut Sarah’s food up for her.
Can’t Do It:
Even with lots of encouragement, Sarah takes ages to eat anything. It can take an forty minutes just to eat a small (200g) tin of beans and a single slice of toast.
Example – Hector
Aids:
Because of my tremor, nowadays I always use a cup with a lid-and-spout or a lid-and-straw.