How to Make Dressing Easier When You Have Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease

You have been dressing yourself since childhood, and your brain remembers this, says Leigh Jablonski, an occupational therapist at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey. “It's almost like muscle memory,” she says.

Streamline Your Closet and Clothes Choices

Make your clothing choices easier by decluttering your closet or dresser. Simplifying your wardrobe can lower mental load and decision fatigue, says Jablonski.

• Organize and clean out drawers and closets often.
• Label drawers and closet sections with words, pictures, or color-coded hangers.
• Lay out your clothes for the next day in the order you put them on.
• Choose a handful of favorite outfits that you rotate.
• Sort your clothes by color, type, or occasion.
• Pack away off-season clothes.
• Keep your outfits in one place, rather than in multiple closets or drawers.

In general, declutter and minimize options as much as you can, says Allison Greenwood, an occupational therapist in outpatient seating and wheeled mobility services at the University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute in Baltimore.

Wardrobe Upgrades for Easier Dressing

• Clothes with more stretch or a loose fit
• Pants with elastic waistbands
• Shirts with large neck and arm openings
• Velcro fasteners for pants, shirts, and shoes
• Clothes that open in the front, like cardigans instead of pullover sweaters
• Magnetic or snap buttons

“Velcro closures are easier than buttons on shirts and pants; slip-on shoes or shoes with Velcro closures can replace shoes with tie shoelaces,” says Jablonski. But keep in mind each new type of clothing involves a learning curve, she says.

Greenwood also recommends caution in bringing in a slew of clothing adaptations. “It can be harder to learn new equipment or techniques, which can lead to frustration and agitation,” says Greenwood.

Establish a Stress-Free Morning Routine

Plan for Extra Time

Develop a Custom Routine

Set Up Reminders

“Using memory aids like daily planners or calendars is also useful,” says Jablonski, who suggests keeping a step-by-step list of basic daily activities on a whiteboard and keeping it somewhere easy to find upon waking in the morning.

Prevent Morning Stress

“It is helpful to break down an activity like dressing into several individual steps or components,” says Greenwood, such as focusing on your shirt first, then your pants. If you get distracted easily in the mornings, turn off the TV or radio while you dress.

Also try not to multitask during dressing time. Dress first, then make your coffee, then take the dog out—or whichever order makes the most sense for your situation. You may find your own tips and tricks as you try the options above. You know yourself best, so use what works and leave what doesn’t.