How to Optimize Accessibility and Mobility in Your Home

How to Optimize Accessibility and Mobility in Your Home 1. When assistive devices are being used in the home there is sometimes a problem with doorways being too narrow. Some hardware stores have hinges that allow the door to open and drop back in line with the frame and provide an extra few inches for access. 2. Remove the trim around the inside edge of the door from the floor to the midway point of the frame. This will add an extra half inch to the door way and may be enough to allow a wheelchair or walker to pass through. 3. Remove the standard door and install a bypass door on overhead track. 4. Mount an adjustable mirror above the stove if you are in a wheelchair so you can see into the pots on the stove from your chair. 5. Take the hand rims off a wheelchair to make it just a bit narrower., 6. Buy a reacher to use for tuing buers off and on if they are located across the back of the stove. This is helpful for persons in a wheelchair as well as someone with restricted movement in their shoulders and arms. 7. Buy a roll of that "waffle" or non skid shelf liner at the hardware or kitchen store and cut into circles that fit over jar lids. It makes opening jars and bottles easier. 8. Speciality stores sell cutlery with large handles for people with arthritis or impaired use due to stroke. They are expensive. Try wrapping your own kitchen utensils with foam pipe wrap from the hardware store. 9. Another option is to buy a long handled parfait spoon and bend the handle into a loop. This allows the user to wrap their fingers around the loop and does not require them to grip as tightly. 10. Buttons on heavy winter coats can be a problem for arthritic or cold hands. Try using elastic thread on the buttons. That bit of extra give makes them easier to do up. 11. As we age our eyes take longer to adjust to the darkness. Use night lights to make noctual visits to the fridge or bathroom safer. Use a plastic drink glass for next to the bed or in the bathroom to eliminate the chance of cuts. 12. Make sure phones have oversize lit key pads so they can be easily seen and used in an emergency . DO NOT program 911 into the auto dial on the phone. If it is touched in error a call will go out and waste valuable emergency services time and resources. 13. Phones that must be tued on or off by pushing a button are a good choice. Do not place the bedroom phone on the floor next to the bed or on a soft piece of fuiture such as a chair or footstool. This may sound logical but many a relative has been frantic when they could not reach Granny for hours, only to drive 50 miles and find the phone off the hook. 14. Mount battery operated lights in closets or cupboards that do not have lights in them. Put scarves, hats and gloves in baskets that can be easily reached to avoid stretching to reach the top shelf. 15. There are all sorts of gadgets out there to automate lights indoors and out. Don't forget the exterior of your home. Be safe. Have lights on near the entrance and from the driveway to the door. Decrease the chance of tripping. If you arrive home with a car full of parcels wait until daylight to unload them. 16. If tuing lights off or on is a problem because of stiff fingers or reaching across a table or chair is required to locate the switch, try one of the many items now available. There are peddles that can be stepped on to activate lamps and lamp bases that only need to be touched to tu on the light. 17. A tennis ball cut and slipped over a door knob also makes it easier to grip and tu. 18. Keys with large round tops are also easier to manage. If possible get new keys made with these tops. Some have rubberized, colour rims on them for easier grip and identification on a full key chain. 20. If zippers are hard to manage add a tassel, large loop or cord so stiff fingers don't have to work so hard. 21. Mattresses and upholstered fuiture should be vacuumed regularly. Dust mites live in ALL carpets and fuiture, even in a clean home. They can aggravate breathing problems and allergies if not kept under control. Everyone's tolerance is different. 22. Put a chair or bench close to the entrance so there is a place to sit and remove or put on shoes. Bending over or standing up too quickly can cause dizziness. 23. Rearrange fuiture such as foot stools and side tables to allow for wider walkways and easier access with canes or walkers. Written by Deborah Baker at http://www.silvercross-stair-lifts.com