Person-Centered, Community-Based Occupational Therapy for a Man With Parkinson’s Disease: A Case Study

Abstract

The participant was a 78-year-old man with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease living at home with his wife. He had bilateral bradykinesia, tremor, flexed and asymmetric posture, a shuffling gait pattern with occasional freezing, mild intellectual impairment, depression, a restricted lifestyle, and a self-reported history of about one fall per month. Occupational therapy focused on the participant’s goals, including self-care, fall prevention, yard care, co-piloting his aircraft, and church participation. Collaboration, spousal involvement, explanation, demonstration, practice, feedback, and refinement of performance strategies and assistive equipment marked the therapeutic process over six, once-weekly sessions. Outcomes included maintenance or increase in self-identified occupations despite disease progression over a six-month period as monitored by follow-up telephone calls. No falls were recorded on a standard falls calendar for an entire year. The use of participant-identified occupational forms in the home and community is recommended for persons with Parkinson’s disease.