Making Homes More Accessible to the Handicapped
A census taken more than a decade ago indicates that more 50 million Americans suffer from some form of disability. More than ten percent of them have disabilities that make it difficult for them to perform the most ordinary everyday tasks. They would need some kind of assistance in order for them to get around and live as normally as they can.
Since the population is set to increase, the number of handicapped people is also bound to go up. Families with members with disabilities are faced with the task of caring for them.
Living a Normal Life
It is not easy to have some form of physical impairment. The circumstance that caused the disability, whether inborn or as a result of an accident, don't really matter. It would still make life a bit of a challenge no matter what.
That is why families should aim to provide them with as much assistance as they can. One of the best ways that people with disabilities can be helped is through making sure that their homes are adapted to their needs.
There are many things that can be done in order to make sure that a home is ideal for the use of someone with disability. To help you out, here are some of those things that you can do to modify your home and make it easily accessible even when handicapped.
Yard
The kind of work that you have to do depends on the sort of the disability that a person is suffering. In the yard for example, you can make the paths wider in order to allow wheelchairs to pass through them smoothly. You can also improve the surface so that the wheels will have better traction.
The entrance to the house is also important. You need to make them wide and free of obstacles so that going to and from an area or in and out of the house won't be difficult.
Interior
The interior of the house is understandably very crucial when it comes to making it friendlier towards those who are handicapped. You need to provide wide areas where they can move around if they are on a wheel chair.
Handles and rails to the sides and on the walls are also crucial in making the home more accessible. You need to place those in areas where the person would be walking. They also prevent slips in areas like the bathroom and facilitate transitioning from a standing or sitting position.
Bathroom
Many times the bathroom is the place at home that would require the greatest number of work. The floor there should be made from material that is not too slippery and there should also be a lot of room to move around especially if a wheel chair would have to be brought in. Handles and rails are also a crucial safety measure in the bathroom.
Those are just some of the things that you can do in order to ensure that a house can be more accessible to those with physical impairment. Not only will these measures aid in providing safety, it also gives them a sense of normalcy and independence.
Since the population is set to increase, the number of handicapped people is also bound to go up. Families with members with disabilities are faced with the task of caring for them.
Living a Normal Life
It is not easy to have some form of physical impairment. The circumstance that caused the disability, whether inborn or as a result of an accident, don't really matter. It would still make life a bit of a challenge no matter what.
That is why families should aim to provide them with as much assistance as they can. One of the best ways that people with disabilities can be helped is through making sure that their homes are adapted to their needs.
There are many things that can be done in order to make sure that a home is ideal for the use of someone with disability. To help you out, here are some of those things that you can do to modify your home and make it easily accessible even when handicapped.
Yard
The kind of work that you have to do depends on the sort of the disability that a person is suffering. In the yard for example, you can make the paths wider in order to allow wheelchairs to pass through them smoothly. You can also improve the surface so that the wheels will have better traction.
The entrance to the house is also important. You need to make them wide and free of obstacles so that going to and from an area or in and out of the house won't be difficult.
Interior
The interior of the house is understandably very crucial when it comes to making it friendlier towards those who are handicapped. You need to provide wide areas where they can move around if they are on a wheel chair.
Handles and rails to the sides and on the walls are also crucial in making the home more accessible. You need to place those in areas where the person would be walking. They also prevent slips in areas like the bathroom and facilitate transitioning from a standing or sitting position.
Bathroom
Many times the bathroom is the place at home that would require the greatest number of work. The floor there should be made from material that is not too slippery and there should also be a lot of room to move around especially if a wheel chair would have to be brought in. Handles and rails are also a crucial safety measure in the bathroom.
Those are just some of the things that you can do in order to ensure that a house can be more accessible to those with physical impairment. Not only will these measures aid in providing safety, it also gives them a sense of normalcy and independence.
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