Follow this tutorial and learn how to make your own long handled device to use when eating, combing hair, and brushing teeth. This adaptive, long handled device can help individuals with limited arm range of motion gain independence in self care tasks.
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Long handled utensils are great for individuals who have limited upper extremity (arm) range of motion. These types of adaptive devices are super simple to make and only need a few items to get started. Plus, long handled utensils can be beneficial in helping individuals gain independence with self feeding, bathing, and brushing teeth and hair with the help of this adaptive device.
What Is A Long Handled Adaptive Device?
Long handled utensils, also known as extension utensils, are a type of adaptive equipment that can help individuals with limited arm range of motion be independent with activities of daily living (ADL’s). Its specific purpose is to extend the length of a typical handle making daily tasks easier for those with limited range of motion and/or strength. Whether reaching down to wash your toes, self feeding, or brushing the back of your hair, long handled hair brushes, sponges, and forks and spoons can help.
Who Might Benefit From Using A Long Handled Adaptive Utensil?
Occupational therapists often recommend long handled devices to help their clients gain independence in self care skills who have:
- Limited arm strength
- Restricted upper extremity (arm) range of motion
- Limited reach
How Can I Make My Long Handle Built Up As Well?
Having a wider gripping surface can help make grasping a small utensil easier while also helping to reduce pain and cause less stress on the joints. Built up handles have a larger, wider gripping surface that can be added to a number of devices such as hair brushes, forks or spoons, pens and pencils, and paint brushes among others.
Make your device built up using either foam tubing or wrapping a wash cloth around the handle using rubber bands. Check out this post for the full details on how to make your own DIY built up handles.
Can An Angled Spoon Help Making Eating Easier?
Angled spoons can be helpful for individuals who are using a long handled device for feeding, but are having difficulty achieving the correct angle for putting the spoon in the mouth. A long handle device paired with an angled spoon or fork can make eating easier for those with limited arm range of motion.
Other Types of Long Handled Adaptive Devices
- Shoe horn
- Feeding utensils such as a long handled spoon and fork
- Sponge or washcloth
- Hair brush or comb
- Razor for shaving legs
Things To Keep In Mind When Making A Long Handled Adaptive Device
- When I made my long handled spoon, my dowel rod measured 7 inches long. Try to approximate the length needed. Add a couple extra inches to make sure you have the correct length, and trim to the length needed specific for your situation.
- Wash feeding utensils after each use. Either remove the spoon from the Velcro and wash. Or cut the duct tape and wash the utensil after each use.
- Make sure to use a metal feeding utensil. No plastic ware.
- Add a large, built up handle to your device. Add foam tubing or a washcloth for a low stress built up handle. Check out this post for the full details.
Projects With A Purpose
Projects With A Purpose is a section of my posts where I lay out ideas for sharing some of The DIY Therapist projects with others. These long handled adaptive devices, along with built up handles, can be given to assisted living facilities or skilled nursing facilities for their residents to use. Here are a few things to keep in mind before donating supplies:
- Contact the director or occupational therapist of a local skilled nursing or assisted living facility to assess their need for built up, long handled adaptive devices.
- If there is a need, find out how many long handled spoons or forks they are in need of.
- Care centers will most likely not need the spoon or fork just the long handle and Velcro straps and most likely the built up handle as well.
- It’s best to attach a Velcro strap to the long handle for easy cleaning.
- Since I am writing this during the pandemic, you may have to schedule a time to drop off the long handled utensils once it’s ready.
How To Make Your Own Long Handled Adaptive Device
Materials
- Dowel rod approximately ¼” thick and about 7” long depending on your situation
- Duct tape or approximately a ½” wide piece of Velcro
- Feeding utensil, comb or hair brush, or other device of choice.
- Thread and a sewing machine if using Velcro
Instructions
How To Make A Long Handled Utensil Using Duct Tape– Easy
- Place your spoon, fork, comb, hair brush, etc on the dowel rod (see pictures above for placement).
- Secure with (2)1/2″ strips of duct tape. Add more duct tape as needed to ensure a tight fit.
- Add a built up handle for better comfort and ease of use. See post for details.
How To Make A Long Handled Utensil Using Velcro- Sewing Required.
- Cut an approximate 2″ strip of the soft side of the Velcro (or more as needed depending on the handle of the device you are using and the width of the dowel rod).
- Sew a small loop as pictured below (picture 1) making sure the dowel rod you are using fits through the opening. Sew in place by sewing a rectangle and then an “X” through the middle as pictured. The rectangle and X will make it more secure.
- Cut a 1-2″ piece of the rough side of the Velcro (or more depending on how wide your utensil handle is). Attach the two pieces with right sides together with an approximate 1/2″ overlap. Before sewing, it’s a good idea to wrap the Velcro around the dowel rod to ensure both pieces of Velcro are going the correct direction.
- Put your chosen utensil in place and secure. Done and ready to use!
Takeaways
How did this project go? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear about how it went.
What other projects, assistive devices, and/or therapy tools would you like to see up on the blog? Let me know in the comments or message me here.
Here Are Some Other Projects You Might Be Interested In
- DIY Button Hook and Zipper Pull helps make manipulating buttons and zippers with one hand easier
- Do It Yourself Self Opening Adaptive Loop Scissors to help make scissoring easier
- What Is Occupational Therapy? All things OT and OT School