How to Make Your Home More Accessible

Accessibility is so much more than wheelchair ramps and stair rails. If you are in need of additional help to transform your home because someone needs support beyond the conventional, you’re in the right place. Not all disabilities are visible, of course, which means that you need to be aware of the accommodations that you need to make if one of your family members has a disability to live with that requires support.

For example, those with hearing loss will need to consider using assistive listening devices, and this can be built into the house with the devices that you have at home already. You can install new smart appliances that make assistive listening easier, and you can bet that with the installation of wider doors and grab rails, your living conditions will also be much easier. So, how can you make your home much more accessible?

Transform your bathrooms. If you can remove the lip of the shower and the doors on the hinges, you can create a bathroom with a seamless floor plan. This will enable you to move easily through the bathroom as you need to, making it a much more wheelchair-friendly area, too. An open shower can still cause a slip issue, but with the right flooring, it won’t be so slippery when you are trying to get in and out, allowing you to move around without issue.

How to Make Your Home More Accessible

1. Add ramps to the exterior doors. If your home is up on a step or you have no way to wheel a chair into the doorways, the best thing that you can do is get ramps added to your exterior doors. This will help you to get in and out. If you need to have ramps inside the home, you might consider a chair lift for actual stairs and ramps for internal doors that have one step up.
2. Install grab bars in the hallways. Does someone have the need for support while moving from room to room? If so, grab rails can be a handy option! Installing these grab bars and rails in hallways and up stairs gives you or your family member a way to bear weight that is easy. The best part is that they don’t have to be too hard to install – you can do them yourself! 
3. Upgrade your home technology. Smart home technology makes all the difference to your home when it comes to accessibility. Implementing smart tech to your house is a smart thing to do if you need assistance to operate areas of the home. Anything from the thermostat to the entertainment systems can be controlled with smart technology and your home is going to benefit massively from it! Not only that, but you will benefit better from having smart technology in your house. With better control comes better help and support.
4. Look at your flooring. If you want your home to be more accessible, particularly where wheelchairs are concerned, you need to check your flooring and replace carpets. You should also think about replacing slippery flooring options and use non-slip mats and textures where you can. The floor needs to be easy to use otherwise you’re going to struggle somewhat!
5. Make sure that your exterior is as accessible as the interior. You want to still be able to use your backyard, and that means ensuring that you can still bend for your plants and kneel where needed.if you love to dig out the vegetable garden, for example, ensuring that you have the right equipment and tools makes your backyard much more accessible. Planter stands and boxes are preferable to flower beds and you can use planters to allow you to prune at an accessible height without worrying about your knees. You deserve a beautiful garden, so make sure that you have it laid out for your ease.
6. Change up your fixtures. Some of your fixtures are much easier to use when they are easy to operate. For example, if you currently have doors with traditional door knobs, you’ll need to think about switching those out to lever-handles. Door handles that are easy to push down make your home far more accessible than it is right now and you need that!
7. Be aware of what you need. The best way to make sure that your home is accessible is to know what you need. Speaking to occupational therapists and your doctor will help you, here, as you can ensure that you get the best possible advice. You can even get your home assessed to know what you need for sure.

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