Managing Dementia at Home: 5 Occupational Therapy Strategies

For families supporting a loved one with dementia, the goal is not just management, but preserving the person behind the diagnosis. Maintaining a sense of safety, routine, and independence at home is paramount. Occupational therapy (OT) offers practical, home-based strategies that can make a profound difference. This guide outlines five key OT approaches to help manage the daily challenges of dementia with compassion and confidence.

How Occupational Therapy Supports Dementia Care

An occupational therapist’s role in dementia care is to see the whole person — their environment, emotional wellbeing, cognitive needs, and personal aspirations — not just the memory challenges. Rather than focusing on what someone can no longer do, OT identifies what they can do and builds on it.

The goal is to find the specific barriers to each meaningful activity and problem-solve ways around them. This might mean adapting a task, changing the environment, or addressing the anxiety that often accompanies cognitive change. Every small thing someone does for themselves — even taking off their own socks — restores a little independence and self-worth.

Five Practical OT Strategies for the Home

Implementing these strategies can help create a more supportive and manageable home environment. It is often best to introduce them gradually.

1. Establish Clear and Consistent Routines

Predictability helps to reduce anxiety and confusion. An OT can help you establish a simple daily schedule that provides a familiar rhythm. This is particularly helpful in managing “sundowning” — the confusion that often occurs in the late afternoon.

2. Adapt Daily Living Skills (ADLs)

The ability to manage self-care is fundamental to a person’s dignity. An OT can suggest simple but effective ways to make tasks like dressing or eating easier (known as “task segmentation”).

Try this: Lay out clothes in the specific order they should be put on. In the kitchen, use high-contrast crockery (e.g., a red plate on a white table) to make food more visible, as dementia can alter visual perception.

3. Make Simple Home Safety Modifications

A home assessment is key to preventing falls and other accidents. An OT will identify potential hazards that might not be obvious to the untrained eye.

Try this: Beyond removing loose rugs, look at floor contrast. A dark doormat on a light floor can sometimes be perceived as a “hole” in the ground by someone with dementia, causing them to freeze or trip. Ensure lighting levels are high and even throughout the home to reduce shadows.

4. Introduce Cognitive Stimulation

Engaging in purposeful, enjoyable activities helps to stimulate brain function, improve mood, and maintain a sense of identity. The key is to build activities around what matters to the individual — their interests, their history, the things that bring them joy.

Try this: Ask what activities they used to enjoy and explore what’s stopping them now. If someone loved playing cards but can’t hold them due to a tremor, a simple card holder can re-enable that activity. Sorting familiar objects, looking through photo albums, or dusting treasured ornaments on the mantelpiece — these aren’t just stimulation, they’re meaningful occupations that preserve purpose and connection.

5. Provide Carer Training and Support

Supporting a loved one with dementia can be overwhelming. A key part of an OT’s role is empowering carers — not just with safe handling techniques, but with strategies to support independence and engagement. Our carer training covers practical skills alongside a deeper understanding of the person’s needs.

Try this: Rather than rushing to help with every task, pause and ask: could they do part of this themselves? An OT can help you identify those moments — perhaps your loved one can still take off their own socks, or choose their own clothes. Building these small tasks into the daily care routine preserves dignity, builds confidence, and gives carers a more rewarding, collaborative role.

Final Thoughts

Living well with dementia at home is about seeing the whole person — their history, their interests, their emotional needs — and finding practical ways to preserve the activities and routines that give life meaning. Occupational therapy provides the expert guidance to identify the barriers and implement changes that make a real difference to both safety and quality of life.

If you are struggling with a loved one’s changing needs, you don’t have to guess the best way forward. A specialist home visit from an occupational therapist can provide a comprehensive assessment of your unique situation.