A friend who knew I was collecting information about caregiving products reached out the other day. She said her father has been struggling with Parkinson’s and needed some clothing suggestions that would keep him looking professional (he still works) while accommodating his inability to use one arm to get dressed. I thought I’d share this note, as others might find it helpful.
Dear Ann,
Happy to help. Good for your dad for still practicing... what I'm finding in my research is that is really important to keep doing what you love. Don't encourage him to retire too quickly!
I'm attaching my exhaustive list of adaptive clothing resources... feel free to peruse it but it might be a bit overwhelming. MagnaReady is a great company for magnetic shirts... hopefully those are the ones your mom found and ordered. Zappos now has a line of adaptive clothing and is working to bring on new vendors. Buck and Buck sells pants with a velcro fly, which might be easier for him to don and doff. Silverts makes some elastic waist dresspants that could simplify the dressing process. Here is a belt that can be fastened with one hand. Somewhere I believe I've seen a pants made with "handles" along the waistband so it's easier to tug them on, but I can't find that resource right at the moment. If your mom sews, she could sew some twill tape or webbing onto the waistband to make these handles. Additionally, there are tons of one-handed dressing videos on youtube that might give him some tips for his existing pants..
In addition to these clothing resources, here are some links to dressing aids.
Hope that helps. I'll keep an eye out for other one-handed dressing ideas. Reach out if you have any other questions and best of luck to your family.
-Carla