ABSTRACT
The ability to manage personal self-care is assumed from a very early age and is not a focus for healthy adults. Adults do not judge life successes, failures, fondest memories, or dire tragedies on their ability to participate in self-care occupations. When, however, an adult is unable to perform self-care or when he or she evaluates performance as unsatisfactory, exhausting, or arduous, the restriction to engage in self-care comes into sharp focus. One’s dignity is challenged, identity as an adult is confronted, and ability to function in society is shaken. The immediacy of completing these tasks may supersede engaging in other meaningful occupations. When self-care participation restrictions emerge for persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), these become pressing concerns; meeting this challenge is where the weight of this chapter rests.
