Rediscovering her zest for life with Reablement

At 79 years old, Mdm Laila continues to hold a strong zest for life. In her early 20s, she spent some years working as a pre-school teacher before moving into sales. These days, she enjoys dressing up, which was influenced by her former job as a beautician. However, her life took a challenging turn five years ago. In 2020, while trying to clean her corridor, Mdm Laila slipped and rolled down the corridor before landing in front of the lifts. With no one around to help her get up, Mdm Laila had to slowly and carefully roll herself back to her house to call her friends for help.

Traumatised for several years after the incident, Mdm Laila was frightened by the loud sounds around her as they reminded her of the terrible fall. Heeding the advice of her doctors to avoid another fall due to her history of stroke, Mdm Laila soon developed an immense fear of falling. She was afraid of her legs being unstable while standing and feared going to her toilet alone as she did not want to fall again with no one around to help her.

After the traumatic fall which left her feeling extremely down, TOUCH offered Mdm Laila hope when she needed it the most. A physiotherapist from a hospital introduced TOUCH’s Reablement Programme to her while she was recovering at the hospital, having seen its success with other patients who had been referred to the programme. 

Having Faith in Recovery

Caption: Mdm Laila learning to be confident with the support of the Reablement team

Enrolled into the Reablement Programme, Mdm Laila worked with her Reablement team to understand her aspirations and to come up with solutions to her problems. She learnt how to regain her confidence in walking again and was advised to modify her home, such as by installing bedrails to increase her independence in getting up from her bed . The Reablement team also introduced innovative solutions to address her daily issues, such as the use of a long-handled reacher to assist her in getting dressed while reducing the need for bending down or excessive stretching. She was also guided through dressing techniques to modify how she put on her pants, allowing her to get dressed more easily and independently.

Beyond helping Mdm Laila improve her mobility, the team also worked with her to overcome her fear of falling. Before Reablement, Mdm Laila needed her new domestic helper to be beside her while going to the toilet. However, with the help of the Reablement team, Mdm Laila identified small steps she could take to overcome her fear and reduce her reliance on her helper. With a curated plan put in place for Mdm Laila to progressively reduce the necessary proximity between her and her helper, she has shown remarkable growth in independence. Now, Mdm Laila can use the toilet on her own without her helper beside her or even at home.

Renewed Hope

Caption: Mdm Laila expressing her concerns to her Reablement team

Caption: Mdm Laila learning mobility techniques from senior occupational therapist Ms Jovina Neo

Caption: Mdm Laila embracing life with positivity and working hard to achieve her personal goals

As a shy person who is embarrassed about asking for help, Mdm Laila is glad that Reablement has helped her to be independent. “I need to work hard at physiotherapy so that my legs are stronger and I can walk by myself,” says Mdm Laila. Worried about being alone with no one to help her, Mdm Laila is determined to improve her mobility through Reablement. “I’m thinking of my future. I want to live another 10 to 20 years, so I want to be enrolled in Reablement. I promised myself to keep fit and practise what I’ve been taught.”

Mdm Laila is excited at the prospect of doing things on her own. “I enjoy watching the choir sing at Tang Plaza during the year-end festive period. I like dressing up and it will be so much better if I can walk around while dressed nicely,” says Mdm Laila. She is eager to go out by herself to meet her friends and to have coffee at the coffee shop. Feeling blessed by her discovery of Reablement, Mdm Laila is deeply touched by her team’s efforts to help her walk again.

Suffering from a serious fall does not have to be the end of active ageing. With strength and determination, you can regain your independence and do what matters to you through Reablement. If you know of anyone who can benefit from TOUCH's Reablement Programme, please call 6661 0829 or email touch.reablement@touch.org.sg or click here for more information.

Story published in 2025 

About the Reablement Programme

In 2022, TOUCH Community Services initiated the Reablement Programme to promote greater ownership in seniors to manage their own health and reduce reliance on care services. It is also part of TOUCH’s ongoing efforts to adopt sustainable long-term solutions to mitigate manpower constraints to support Singapore’s rapidly ageing population.  Supported by care professionals, seniors receive personalised coaching and training to increase their ability and confidence to age well, and age-in-place.