Planning Home Accessibility for a Special Needs Child

Does your child need more room to move around with their walker, wheelchair or stander? You’re not alone; many parents face this same issue. Some know what should be done and others have no clue where to begin.

For those that are going through this decision, I have put together some questions to look at as well as some resources to get help with your home modifications. After all, not everyone is a handy person or knows a contractor. For those of us that need some help, here are some things to get you started.

Planning Things Out

To get anything done, you need to have a plan – this is no different when you being looking at making accessibility changes to your home. Before you begin, ask yourself some questions to get started:

• Does your current home support accessibility modifications? Will modifications impact your home value? If not, what’s on the top of list to get your child moving around the house?
• Are there ways to create added accessibility in your current home without structural modifications? These may include mobile ramps for access via wheelchair into your home.
• What type of changes do you need to make to your home? Are they only exterior? Do you need work done inside?Some modifications outside would be ramps into your home and internal would be widening your hallway to allow your child to turn around with their wheelchair.
• Is there funding available for the changes or are there other resources to find funding? Check out government programs and non-profit organizations in your area for help with changes for accessibility to your home.To help you out, here are some resources to check out for help with modifications for accessibility:

• National Resource Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modification
• Infinitec.org Universal Design
• HUD – Information for Disabled Persons
• Homemods.org Resources

Making changes to your home structure for accessibility takes careful planning, some important decisions, financing and some luck. It’s not easy and unless your really handy or a contractor, you’re going to need some help – the resources I listed above will get you started.

Have you gone through modifications for your house? Do you have resources you use for accessibility? Let us know in the comments so we all can benefit from the information.

Photo credit: sass_face