Whether you are a family member caring for an aging loved one or someone who is planning for the future, there can be a tremendous amount of information to sift through. Hopefully, this guide will help provide some clarity around all of the information you may find on the internet around home accessibility & safety. The information in this guide comes from clinical experience and evidence, as well as guidelines provided by the folks over at ADA.gov.

How We Came Up with This Home Accessibility & Safety Guide

When I was a consultant for Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), my team and I helped transition people of out state institutions and facilities to living a safe, healthy and engaged lives in local communities throughout Georgia. This work allowed me to grow in my understanding and appreciation for what we called “Integrated Clinical Support” basically, clinicians working together as a team to help one person. I had worked on some smaller projects like this at the VA, but doing it for the state showed me the possibilities of providing services to patients as part of a team, not just a solo clinician or specialist.

It’s also in this role where I was tasked with developing a program for home assessment and a process for guiding modifications that the department completed on selected homes. My process was used to manage the assessment, selection, and modification of any home that the department used to transition individuals out of the state hospitals.

About the Guide

As far as the information in this guide goes, the information and recommendations come both from my experience running the program for the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and the recommendations and guidelines provided by ADA.gov.

This guide is broken down into a few different parts that highlight the most important areas of the home. It’s worth noting that the recommendations in this ebook, while being evidence-based, may not be the right recommendation or strategy for you and your specific situation. Ideally, home modifications are completed to align with ADA recommendations, which make them “generally” accessible and safe. However, some people may have certain needs and safety concerns that require more specialized modifications, equipment, and recommendations. This is an information ebook and should not be used in place of qualified, professional advice.

4 Components of a Home Accessibility & Safety Assessment Process

I hope this guide will help demystify home accessibility & safety and will increase your knowledge and understanding of what to look for and address when considering any home modification or equipment purchase. To make it easy to follow, I’ve broken it down into 4 components:

• Part 1: Approach & Entrance
• Part 2: Bathrooms
• Part 3: Bedrooms & General Home & Room Accessibility
• Part 4: What to expect and look for in a home accessibility assessment and modification process

A Story About Accessibility & Safety Modifications Gone Wrong

In my work doing assessments for Home Accessibility & Safety, I’ve seen a lot of challenges, unique situations, and have gleaned a couple funny stories. Let’s dive into the first chapter of the ebook that covers the entrance and approach to a house or building. This gets covered first because, if you can’t get in the building, there’s no point in having the inside accessible and safe.

That may seem like a common sense point, but it’s easy to overlook. In fact, I once worked with a family who had a child with cerebral palsy and required a power wheelchair to get around. When I showed up at the home to meet with the family and provide some guidance around accessibility and safety, I noticed the power wheelchair was out in the garage. When I brought this up to the family, they said, “Well, it doesn’t fit through the door, so we have to figure things out when he’s inside”.

Needless to say, my first recommendation was to modify the entrance before they spent anymore money on equipment or modification inside the home. The point, is that it can be easy to see a commercial for a piece of equipment, or talk to a contractor who recommends a certain modification, and think that it will be the answer. The reality is that it takes a bit more planning and thought before buying equipment or knocking down walls.

Summary

Especially in today’s day and age, many people plan on “aging in place”, or living in their home as they get older. More people want to avoid assisted living facilities, nursing homes, or moving in with other family members. One of the biggest barriers to aging in place is the fact that most homes were not built with this goal in mind. I can’t tell you how many homes I’ve walked through where doors were 24″ wide. That’s far too narrow for a walker, let alone a wheelchair.

It’s also an area where you can potentially spend a ton of money on modifications and equipment that either aren’t right for you, or that need to be replaced or redone in a couple of years. I once worked with a family that spent $4,500 on a ramp in their front yard that didn’t work for their love one’s wheelchair. They reached out to us after their ramp project was complete. That was an expensive learning experience for them.

I always tell people that they don’t need to hire us to do their home accessibility assessment for smaller projects or modifications, but if they’re thinking about making a home accessible for a loved one as they age, they’ll likely save a lot of time and money by hiring someone to do a thorough home assessment. But none of that matters if the home assessment doesn’t take into account the person’s diagnosis, abilities, and future considerations.

More Home Accessibility & Safety Resources

If you or a loved one experience near falls or frequent falls, schedule an evaluation today! We can discuss the reasons you may be experiencing instability, work to improve muscle strength, and brainstorm on how to make your environment safer.

You can also check out our latest ebook that covers the most important areas to address when considering home modification. It also includes a home safety checklist!

And if you live in the Augusta area, book an appointment online or call the office today to schedule a mobility & falls assessment or even speak about how we can help you modify your home to improve your safety and independence.