Deb, Can he still bathe himself ? As you enter the next stage
you are going to be doing a LOT more personal care stuff.

I gave Ron a haircut today.. first time. I have snipped here and there but a full haircut is new for me. I got some tips from my hairdresser
yesterday. Ron had gone to the same barber for 30 years.. and he died last week. There is no way I can try go get him to go somewhere else. Haircut turned out ok.. no prize winner, tho.

I now am shaving, brushing teeth and all the bathroom cleanup .
Yes, we are more like a mother at this point.

I have been bathing him now since January. I just get in the shower with him and soap and rinse him because I started noticing he was coming out of the shower with soap still on his body. I have been shaving him since about that time also, I just do that right in the shower too. I have decided against letting his beard grow because I think it will just get full of food stuff. He can brush his teeth but I have to put the tooth past on the brush and hand it to him and hand him the rinse glass. Last summer I started shaving his head once every six weeks, just easier to maintain. I bought a hair clipper from Walmart- easy to do.

He can go to the bathroom by himself but needs to be reminded where the bathroom is and brought there. But I have him in sweats with no underwear because he can't manage the belt, zipper and undies.

He can feed himself if we get his food ready for him, cut things up. He can still use a fork but fork and knife together is too much for him.

Ron is using only a spoon now and sometimes has trouble with that. Tonight he used his fingers to eat pudding. He doesn't handle things that need a lot of chewing ( meat) very well. His diet now is mostly soft foods. He is not eating much of those.

I got a clipper from Walmart, too. I was a little tentative using it for the first time today.. but his hair looks OK. I tried to leave the top a little longer, but don't know why. He wears his cap 24 hours a day now .. In fact today he had two hats on :-) He is becoming terribly sensitive to noise. He cries when I use the vacuum, mixer, blender or the car radio. They must appear amplified to him.. or something. I don't really know... He hasn't uttered a word or even a sound for months now.

I find this part.. the end stage.. especially hard. And it can last a long time.

Hi,
Ken is doing so many of the same things as your two guys. I may need to buy some of those clippers, I took Ken in for a much need hair cut a few weeks ago but it was a struggle, he has such a hard time sitting in the chair.

I have bee bathing, and shaving him for several months. Also can brush but only if I put it in his mouth.

He has called me mom a couple of times.

Ken has been eating better but also soft and small pieces. Loves the frozen waffles that you pop in the toaster. Lots of eating with his fingers.

Judy, I think the average duration this last stage, 7 is 1.5 years.