Customizing your home to ensure that your family member can freely move around in his or her mobility device will not only prevent accidents from happening, it will also allow and help them regain their sense of independence. Most people who have undergone sickness or accidents may sometime to recover and may need mobility aids for a time. On the other hand, senior members of the family might have mobility issues that keep them from doing their usual tasks.
Pathways
Based on the infographic released by KD Smart Chair, pathways with specific width, lightning requirements and security systems are the basic considerations when making your home wheelchair accessible. The standard width for hallways is 36 inches while for doorways its 32 inches. Pathways should be cleared of anything that hinder the movement of the wheel chair and it should be able to move and turn in all directions.
Lighting
All rooms around the house must be well lit especially in the evening, at night and early morning. Installing lighting control system where it is accessible is also advised.
Security Systems
Aside from having phone and alert systems around the house, having a reliable security system is also important so that you can protect your home even if you have limited mobility.
Additional Designs
To help our family member recover or gain their independence and mobility, the infographic also provided some additional design ideas which maybe installed to make things easier for our family members. A trapeze handle can be placed in his or her bedroom so that they can easily move in or out of the bed. Vertical platform or stair lift may be needed where there are stairs so that they can access different levels of the house with ease. Grab bars and handle bars may be added in the bath tub and next to the toilet.
It can be frustrating to have limited mobility and even more so if the place they live in won’t allow them to live normally as they wish to be. Thus, when designing a house to fit the requirements of a person using a wheel chair, their individual activities and needs should be the foremost consideration.
