In October 2025, the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) hosted a live “Ask the OT Anything” session as part of their “Thriving Through Occupational Therapy” series. Monika Lukasiewicz, an occupational therapist (OT) with 15 years of experience, answered real questions from people with Parkinson’s and care partners about daily living challenges—from getting out of bed to maintaining hobbies.
Her approach? A practical problem-solving framework called the “Triangle of Insights” that helps you identify what you can control and find creative solutions tailored to your specific situation.
The Triangle of Insights: A Simple Problem-Solving Tool
When facing a challenge, consider three angles:
- The Person – What’s happening with you (fatigue, tremor, freezing, etc.)
- The Environment – Your physical surroundings (furniture, tools, layout)
- Care Partners/Community – Support people around you
The key: Focus your energy on what you can control (yourself and your environment) while accepting what you cannot control (care partners’ schedules, other people’s actions).
Real Questions, Real Solutions
Getting In and Out of Bed
The Challenge: Difficulty moving in bed, getting up, or turning over.
Solutions You Can Control:
- Try a short bed rail (about a foot wide) for support when rolling over
- Change to less “frictiony” pajama materials or special sheets designed for easier movement
- Use big movements—throw covers off forcefully to build momentum
- Stay active with exercise to maintain strength for bed mobility
Meal Prep and Cooking
The Challenge: Maintaining independence in the kitchen while managing fatigue.
Solutions You Can Control:
- Keep go-to recipes that you don’t have to think about
- Reorganize your kitchen—things don’t have to stay where they’ve always been
- Put frequently used items in easy-to-reach spots (even in the refrigerator door)
- Create meal prep stations with everything accessible
- Use pre-cut vegetables and grocery delivery to conserve energy
- Ask your OT: “My kitchen isn’t working for me. Can you help?”
Typing and Texting with Tremor
The Challenge: Shaking hands cause hitting multiple keys.
Solutions You Can Control:
- For phones: Use a stylus instead of your finger
- Place phone on a table and rest your forearm and wrist on the table for stability
- Increase font size for more “forgiveness”
- For keyboards: Try assistive devices like Steadiwear
Getting Dressed
The Challenge: Struggling with bras, buttons, and jackets.
Solutions You Can Control:
- Switch to bras without clasps (front-closure or pull-on styles)
- Sit in a firm chair with armrests instead of standing or sitting on the bed—it’s more stable and lets you focus on one task
- Explore adaptive clothing at AskSamie
Coping with Cognitive Changes
The Challenge: Noticing changes in memory, attention, or ability to complete tasks.
Important First Step: Write down specific changes you’re noticing and share with your healthcare team. You don’t have to figure this out alone.
Solutions You Can Control:
- Declutter your environment
- Simplify tasks—set out supplies ahead of time (cups, spoons for breakfast)
- Create kits with everything needed for an activity in one container
- Set up stations where all supplies are readily available
- Get a baseline cognitive screening to understand what’s happening
Safety with Pets
The Challenge: Small dogs or cats underfoot creating fall risk.
Solutions You Can Control:
- Use gates to keep pets in certain areas at specific times
- Designate pet-free zones in high-risk areas like the kitchen
- Balance keeping beloved pets (quality of life) with safety through strategic separation
Maintaining Hobbies
The Challenge: Continuing gardening, music, reading, and other activities as abilities change.
Solutions You Can Control:
For Gardening:
- Try raised/standing beds or bring plants to your patio
- Create a gardening station with all supplies in one place
- Focus on indoor plants if getting outside is the barrier
For Musical Instruments:
- Explore ways to stabilize the instrument environmentally
- Try different techniques or consider a new instrument if making music is what matters most
For Reading with Tremor:
- Put the book on a cookie sheet on a pillow for hands-free reading
- Sit at a table with the book hands-free and good lighting
- Use a pencil eraser to turn pages
Finding an Occupational Therapist
Monika recommends seeing an OT at least once a year as Parkinson’s progresses. Here’s how to find one:
- Contact APDA for help locating OTs in your area
- Search OT Potential to see OT specializations
- For Bay Area residents: Stanford has a list of local OTs knowledgeable about PD
When meeting with an OT: Write down your specific challenges. OTs need to know what’s important to you—what you want to get better at, stress less about, or get back to doing.
The Bottom Line
Small environmental changes and adaptive strategies can make a big difference in maintaining independence. The Triangle of Insights helps you think systematically about problems:
- What’s the specific challenge?
- What can you control?
- How can the environment be adapted?
- What support might you need?
You don’t have to figure everything out alone. Occupational therapists are problem-solving experts who can help you continue doing the activities that bring meaning and joy to your life.
Watch the Full Webinar:
“Ask the OT Anything” – APDA
Stanford Resources:
Resources Mentioned:
- AskSamie – Adaptive equipment curated by OTs
- Steadiwear – Assistive device for tremors
- OT Potential – Find OTs with specializations