Cups And Cutlery

In addition to considering the special cutlery below, also consider using sandwiches and other finger foods more (although sandwiches aren't suitable for people with dysphagia who need texture modified or pureed food).

Whilst we don't know of any cutlery that's ideal, for eating with a spoon (especially when spoon-feeding) a soft silicone baby's spoon is useful - but do make sure that the spoon bowl and any part of the handle that will go into the mouth is flexible silicone, not a silicone coating on a hard metal or wooden core. Unfortunately, baby spoons are slightly smaller than ideal and have shallow bowls, so whilst food can be piled up on them even thickened drink doesn't get much in at once. However, cooking spoons are far too big (and strong). Note that silicone (especially clear silicone as the most appropriate ones usually are) absorbs food colours such as carrot easily, so it's best to wash them straight away.

A possible alternative is to use a disposable paper spoon, which has the advantage of a bigger bowl size, although when it's made out of a flat sheet it needs to be folded and then the handle end held together (unless you bind it round with tape). We've come across one called EcoTensil, but haven't tried it ourselves - please let us know via our contact form if you have experience of using this or if you've found anything else you'd recommend.

Thin disposable plastic spoons do flex if bitten, and have a deeper bowl for drink, but there is the risk that if bitten hard they could break and a sharp piece come off, so they may be best avoided.

Many of these cups are 'unbreakable' plastic and dishwasher safe.

When assisting someone to drink, it's best to get items transparent enough to see the level of the liquid.

There's an excellent selection of these sorts of products available in the UK on the Complete Care Shop website, under kitchen - drinking aids, and for those outside the UK this may give you some ideas and product names to look for. (We don't receive any money for mentioning this shop - but we have used them and do find their range useful.) Also see the Living Made Easy website, under at home - eating and drinking - cups, mugs and glasses and the Living Made Easy website, under at home - eating and drinking - straws and holders (note that the different products aren't ranked or rated, and you should check that any supplier listed is reputable).

There's a large variety of bottle (and jar) unscrewing aids on the market - a wide selection of those available in the UK is shown on the Complete Care Shop website, under kitchen - aids & gadgets - bottle & jar openers, and for those outside the UK this may give you some ideas and product names to look for. (We don't receive any money for mentioning this shop - but we have used them and do find their range useful.) Also see Living Made Easy website, under at home - eating and drinking - openers (note that the different products aren't ranked or rated, and you should check that any supplier listed is reputable).

Which aid is best for your loved one may depend on their abilities, but for unscrewing bottle caps we think the ones that work best are those that simply sit on top of the cap to increase the area you can get your hand on, and have an inner rubber surface to grip the cap well. Anything with hard plastic touching the bottle cap is likely to slip, and we don't feel that the ones with a handle sticking out to the side are natural or easy to use for someone with dementia.

If you're handy at DIY and find you need something a bit taller so that the whole of the palm of the hand can be used, we've made very successful openers for bottle caps by taking an ice lolly mould that has circular conical moulds (of the right widest diameter), sawing them off and filing the ends smooth.

The most reliable method is to glue in a bottle cap - nice and straight, with some padding if needed to fit. In that case, when one bottle is finished wash the modified cap and transfer it to the new bottle (you'll need a few of these modified caps to keep up).

Alternatively, if you want the aid to be separate from the cap, then you'll need to glue a grippy rubber sheet inside the cone, in order to prevent it slipping on the cap.)

If necessary, break the seal on a new bottle's screw cap to enable someone to be able to undo it more easily later, but where this limits the life of the contents make sure you don't do too many in advance.

There's an excellent selection of these sorts of products available in the UK on the Complete Care Shop website, under kitchen - eating aids, and for those outside the UK this may give you some ideas and product names to look for. (We don't receive any money for mentioning this shop - but we have used them and do find their range useful.) Also see the Living Made Easy website, under at home - eating and drinking - plates and bowls and the Living Made Easy website, under at home - eating and drinking - cutlery (note that the different products aren't ranked or rated, and you should check that any supplier listed is reputable).