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Adapting the Home Environment

Making simple changes to your home environment allows your loved one to enjoy a safer and more conducive living space. They can also engage in daily living activities with increased independence. An accessible environment allows for more interactions within the family, enhancing emotional and social support for your loved one. When introducing changes to your home environment, it is critical to get their views.

In this section

Adapting the home for persons with autism and intellectual disability

Key Points

With simple modifications, you can protect your loved one from physical harm and reduce the risk of injuries.
Adapting your home environment can help them build daily routines that encourage independence over time.

Protecting your loved one from physical harm
Reduce the risk of injury at home by taking precautions like:
1. Keeping household objects that could cause harm, such as knives, penknives, scissors and staplers out of sight or locked up so that your loved one cannot have access to them on their own.
2. Ensuring that you never leave a hot stove unattended so that your loved one will not touch it out of curiosity.
3. Keeping house keys out of sight and easy reach of your loved one so that they will not leave the house on their own.
4. Choosing knock-safe furniture, or covering sharp corners of furniture.
Improve accessibility in your home with these tips. You can also consider adopting some Smart Home Technologies to promote independent living for your loved one.
Building daily routines to encourage independence
Help your loved one perform daily tasks more independently by:
1. Teaching them to use a scoop and pail with warm water instead of a showerhead if they face challenges with water temperatures.
2. Placing visuals/ pictorials on tooth brushing and handwashing on toilet walls and near the sink to guide them on proper hygiene care.
You can also consider adopting some Smart Home Technologies to promote independent living for your loved one.

Resources

Creating a Home Environment which is Deaf/Hard of Hearing Friendly How to create a sensory-friendly home Budget 2024: Support for Persons with Disabilities

Adapting the home for persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing

Key Points

Increasing the number of visual cues in the home can help your loved one to be more responsive to external situations and live more independently.

Consulting your loved one
Your loved one may benefit from accommodations made to improve the safety of the home and increase their ability to live independently. It is vital to seek their views on adaptations that may affect them.
Improving visual cues
Increasing the number of visual cues around at home can help your loved one be more aware of their environment and carry out their daily tasks more independently. You can use visual cues such as:
1. Visual doorbells or fire alarms with a light bulb that lights up when the doorbell or alarm rings.
2. Kettles with light indicators to alert users when the water is boiled.
Improve accessibility in your home with these tips. You can also consider adopting some Smart Home Technologies to promote independent living for your loved one.

Resources

Creating a Home Environment which is Deaf/Hard of Hearing Friendly How to create an accessible home for deaf and hard of hearing people Adapting your home: vision and hearing impairment or loss

Adapting the home for persons with physical disabilities

Key Points

Organise your home such that you and your loved one have easy access to frequently used items.
Adapting your home and its layout can help in your caregiving while allowing your loved one to move around safely and easily.

Support your loved one’s daily routine by making your home more safe and accessible.

Ensuring the safety of your loved one
Taking precautions and removing hazards can help your loved one navigate your home safely. Depending on the nature of their disability, you can:
1. Apply slip-resistant treatment to floor tiles¹.
2. Create clear paths for wheelchairs/other assistive devices to access key areas of the home(e.g. remove small steps in the house, keeping pathways to emergency exits unobstructed)².
3. Choose knock-safe furniture, or cover/pad sharp corners of furniture.

Improving accessibility in your home
Installing assistive devices and reorganising your home will allow your loved one to better access things and places. Depending on the nature of their disability, you can:
1. Ensure sufficient wheelchair manoeuvring space in the home (e.g. by removing walls or pillars where possible).
2. Replace door knobs with push and pull bars or press lever handles.
3. Install ramps for easy access to the home, as well as its kitchens and toilets .
4. Place handrails next to or at key areas such as the bed, enabling them to get up independently and carry out their daily routines.
5. Store items on lower shelves or cabinets so that your loved one can reach them while in their wheelchair³.
Improve accessibility in your home with these tips and programmes such as TOUCH Community Services' Safe Home Scheme. You can also consider adopting Smart Home Technologies to promote independent living for your loved one.
Support for your caregiving duties
Re-organising your home can also help in your caregiving duties. For example, placing frequently used items such as diapers and wet wipes in easily-accessible locations. Using baskets/containers to transport these items can minimise the number of trips you take for a single task³. You can also use hoist systems to transfer your loved one easily.

Actions to take

Adapt your home environment to support your loved one’s daily routines.
Remove hazardous objects and be mindful of the placement of household items to ensure your loved one’s safety.

Footnotes:

¹https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHfx3WHH4x0

²https://blog.madeformovement.com/how-to-adapt-your-home-for-a-child-with-disabilities

³10 Ways to Make a Handicap Accessible Home - 101 Mobility®

Resources

Safe Home Scheme The Ultimate Guide to Home Modifications for Persons with Disabilities Preventing Falls - Household Furnishings and Objects

Adapting the home for persons with visual impairment

Key Points

Removing obstacles and adding tactile markers to your home can help your loved one navigate around easily and safely.
Organise your home such that your loved one has easy access to items they require.

When adapting your home to improve mobility and safety for your loved one, it is important to consider their needs and preferences and involve them in the process. It is also critical that you reorientate your loved one whenever changes are made.

Ensuring the safety of your loved one
Creating spacious, unobstructed walking paths for your loved one can reduce the risk of accidents occurring in your home. These will also be helpful in cases of evacuation due to fire or other emergencies.
Improving accessibility in your home
Simple modifications and actions that can help your loved one navigate your home more easily include:
1. Placing braille or tactile labels on objects⁴.
2. Returning objects back to the same spot after use.
3. Using contrasting wall colours to better distinguish the areas of your house⁵.
Improve accessibility in your home with these tips. You can also consider adopting some Smart Home Technologies to promote independent living for your loved one.