Abstract
BACKGROUND.: Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) can experience motor impairments related to their hand-use that restrict participation in daily activities. Feeding is one activity impacted by this health condition. The use of adapted utensils can improve performance and independence in this activity. PURPOSE.: To investigate if a locally designed and made eating-adaptive device helps a person with PD to improve their feeding performance. METHOD.: Single-case ABC-type experimental design. Performance and satisfaction of a 60-year-old man with PD were assessed during feeding tasks in 70 sequential days in three phases. Celeration Line, Two-Standard Deviation Band, and Visual Analysis were the methods used for data analysis. FINDINGS.: Performance and satisfaction increased significantly after the introduction of the adaptive eating device. The addition of weight also contributed to the increase in the participant's performance. IMPLICATIONS.: Adaptive eating device with low production costs and possibility of customized adjustments improves performance of people with PD.
