ModuleDraft

OT home program that actually happens — dose, cues, and habit design

Survivor module: make OT home exercises stick using anchors, cues, tiny habits, repetition tracking, and caregiver-friendly prompting.

Recovery & RehabCaregiver, SurvivorIntro14 minPlain (6–8)

Educational only

Educational only — follow therapist safety instructions and stop if unsafe.

Get help now

Stop and seek urgent help if you have chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, or new stroke-like symptoms. For falls or severe pain: seek urgent evaluation.

Key takeaways

  • Turn OT homework into a daily habit
  • Use cues + tiny doses to increase repetition
  • Track safely without overdoing it

Why home programs fail (it’s not willpower)

  • Too long
  • Unclear ‘when’
  • No cues
  • Too hard on bad days

Design the ‘minimum dose’

  • 2–5 minutes
  • One exercise + one task
  • Stop rule

Cues + anchors

  • After breakfast
  • After brushing teeth
  • Before TV

Tracking that helps

  • Checkmarks
  • Streaks
  • ‘Good enough’ days

Caregiver prompting

  • Offer choices
  • Avoid nagging
  • Celebrate wins

When to pause/escalate

  • New pain
  • Dizziness
  • Big fatigue crash

Practice check

What you’ll practice

These questions are untimed. After you answer all of them, you’ll see your score and a clear next lesson or reference step.

0 of 4 answered

Question 1

1. A good ‘minimum dose’ home program is:

Question 2

2. Anchors help because they:

Question 3

3. Tracking that helps is:

Question 4

4. A reason to pause and ask for guidance is:

References

  1. AHA/ASA2017
    Poststroke Depression: A Scientific Statement for Healthcare Professionals
  2. Cochrane
    Home-based therapy programmes for upper limb functional recovery after stroke