Daily routines with cerebral palsy improves my daily life and well-being. I’m organized out of necessity. People often say to me, “You are so organized!” While I’m positive that there is some truth in that statement, I know I’m organized, I also believe a huge reason why I am organized has to do with having a disability. Relying on others involves routines to keep the household and my basic needs being met.
If you have a significant disability, like cerebral palsy, personal care assistance is sometimes needed. The time allowed for personal care is not unlimited. People work different time slots. Daily routines ensure that needs are taken care of before time ends. Therefore, a certain amount of organization is involved or not everything necessary will be finished.
Here is my routine (as crazy as it might look, but as you’ll see anything is possible.)
Morning routines – I have for 30-40 minutes
- When my alarm clock turns on, I try to get right out of bed. I hate putting off my alarm because I fear I will oversleep. I get out of bed by slipping off my bed and slipping down to crawl. Using the bathroom is the priority.
- I crawl out in the living room. I check my emails, texts, prayers, and do anything I need to check for work. As part of my daily routine, I pray. Prayer keeps my day grounded.
- My morning personal care assistant comes into my house, She gets me ready for work by helping me get dressed, puts me in my wheelchair, make up, and does my hair. We let the dogs outside and feed them. I have my chocolate milk with collagen and protein powder plus an oatmeal square. We brush my teeth, fill my water bottle with lemonade powder for my wheelchair, hangs my lunch bag on my wheelchair, put my glasses on and jacket. All in between, I’m making sure my kids are awake, dressed and out the door too. My assistant will walk me over to the school and use my badge to help me inside the building. She takes my jacket off, puts my badge on and we say our goodbyes.
Lunch – 45 minutes
- My lunch routines is that I text the person who is helping me eat after I get to work and know my lunchtime. I’ll meet my assistant (it’s a different person each day for lunch) either in the school lobby or the classroom depending on the assignment. She or he gets out my food and soda. They will feed me as normal. They will also assist me in anything I might need straightening to be more comfortable for the rest of the day. I wish we had a normal daily routine time for lunch. I feel extremely lucky to have so many nice people willing to assist me at lunch. Most are volunteering their time to help.
Afternoon routines – 3-5 hours
- After school ends, I will walk home and another assistant will meet me at my house.They help take off my glasses, jacket, badge, water bottle, and lunch. We do a variety of household chores together – too many for me to list. It’s all the normal household things that need to be done. Every evening, I make a list so we get everything needed. During this time, I’m also fielding questions from my kids, catching up with them, organization of the house/homework /and extracurriculars.
Night routines –
- My day hasn’t ended when my assistant leaves. I help my son with homework, help my daughter with anything she needs, and write my to-do list for the next afternoon. Afterward, I finish working out, journaling, blogging. I shower. Hopefully, after all of this is complete, I can read or watch tv before I take my medicine and bedtime.
Daily routines are so essential for people with disabilities. We know that having a disability is difficult enough so we need a daily routine so we have something to rely on. Everything might sound daunting, but I actually enjoy routines. They make me feel safe and taken care of by a caregiver. Just try to remember some situations turn up that can derail a routine. We need to try to be flexible.
