Visiting for the Holidays
by Jane Hampton,CID
Dear Jane,
I am a wheelchair user
and am planning on visiting my brother over the holidays. He has
a rambler style home and therefore believes most of the access
issues will be at a minimum….I have a hunch
otherwise. Do you have any tips on ways to make his home more accessible
for me during my stay?
Susan, St. Paul, MN
Dear Susan,
Yes! There are lots
of things that can be done to “temporarily” make
your brother’s home more accessible and user friendly for your
visit. Some of our clients who enjoy traveling have gone to the extent
of creating a “suitcase of traveling products” that are
always packed and ready to go. You may consider this. Here are a
few suggestions to make your visit easier:
Dining Table: One of the most important holiday moments is time
eating the wonderful foods prepared for the holidays. Many tables
do not provide adequate knee clearance below to roll a wheelchair
underneath. The table can be easily raised by placing wood blocks
below each table leg. To keep the table stable when resting on these
blocks, create a hole into the wood block large enough for the table
leg to recess into the block.
Entrance: Consider renting
or purchasing a portable “suitcase” style
ramp. It may not provide the “ideal” slope to enter the
home independently, but with assistance, you most likely will be
able to enter and exit the home as needed.
Door Widths: By removing
a door from its frame, you can achieve an additional 1” to 2” of clearance at a narrow door
opening. Removal of the door can also protect it from occasional
scratches you may cause when trying to pass through the doorway.
Curtains can be hung in the door frame using tension rods for visual
privacy. If you desire to keep a door on the frame for better privacy, “swing
clear hinges” can be installed to position the door outside
the clear opening, behind the door frame.
Maneuvering: Remove
furniture along primary pathways to provide a minimum 36” wide
path of travel leading to all areas of the home you will have access
to. In gathering areas such as the living room, family room, dining
room, etc., remove coffee tables, end tables or even a chair to
make a place for you to be a part of the conversation area.
Path of Travel: Remove all area rugs and lightweight mats from primary
pathways so they do not restrict your movement.
Kitchen: If you are planning on helping in the kitchen, the use
of pull-out breadboards work well providing a work-surface with clear
knee space below. Bread boards can also be used as an alternative
work surface by strapping them across the arm of your wheelchair.
Communication: Use of
a baby monitor can allow you to communicate with someone in the
home if you need assistance—without involving
all other household members.
Bathroom: If the toilet seat is too low, the installation of a
plastic riser seat works well and easily attaches to an existing
toilet. Grab bars that attach to the toilet seat also work well
when installation of permanent grab bars is not possible.
If the vanity mirror is too high, use a hand-held mirror or one
which can sit on top of the bathroom counter.
Bathing: For showering, hand-held shower heads are easy to install
in place of an existing shower head and will assist in directing
water spray when bathing. A transfer bench can be used with either
a bathtub or shower. Grab bars that clamp onto a bathtub rim are
also available.
Sleeping Room: In the bedroom, remove any unnecessary furniture
and position the bed next to a wall to provide additional clear floor
space along one side of the bed. If possible, replace a double bed
with a twin bed to achieve more wheelchair maneuvering space.
If the height of the bed is too low to facilitate safe transfers,
raise the bed by placing wood blocks below in the same fashion as
mentioned above for tables. Another solution would be to purchase
bed leg extenders which may be available at specialty bed and bath
stores (these extenders are typically used to raise a bed to provide
storage below).
If you need help locating any of the above products, contact your
accessibility specialist. They may also be able to help you identify
where you can obtain “previously owned” equipment at
a lower cost than new equipment. The Center for Independent Living
in the area where your brother lives may be able to help you coordinate
rental of larger pieces of equipment.
I hope some of these suggestions are useful for you and your brother.
Happy Holidays!
Accessibility Design was founded in 1992 to enhance lives through
design and project management. They provide design, consultation,
project management, and product recommendation services specializing
in home access for individuals with disabilities at all stages of
life.
Do you have a question
relating to Access? We’ll cover all
of your questions in future issues of Home Access Answers. Please
contact us at 651-644-2133 or by e-mail at
access@accesspress.org.
