Adapting your home for disability Disability assessment
Expect to wait if your home needs significant changes
Professional assessment
The domestic requirements for people living with a disability should always be assessed by a professional, usually via an occupational therapist (OT) from a hospital or social services. This is particularly important when a person is about to come home from hospital for the first time and they need adaptations, such as grab rails or half-steps.
Occupational therapists (OTs) are the most qualified people to give advice, and can even offer assistance with planning the adaptation and liaising with architects and other professionals.
If the changes that need to be made are extensive, it is likely that you will have to wait longer to have them approved and carried out.
Advice for people with disabilities
There is a lot of help available, from small gadgets that can help someone to be more independent and safe to major adaptations in the home. None of these major alterations come cheap, so it is important to get all the free help you can before you start spending.
The best place to start is social services or talking to an association that looks after the specific disability that you or the person living with you has.
If you are not in touch with social services, then you can contact your local council’s housing or environmental health department who may have facilities or budgets to help and sometimes they are the route into social services if you haven’t already got anyone allocated.
Another good route for finding out what help is available is at support groups for the relevant condition – health or social services professionals can often supply details. These can be a great source of information.
Funding for disability adaptations
Either social services or your local environmental health department may be able to offer you a disabled facilities grant, which can be up to £25,000 per home for necessary home improvements. They also sometimes offer low-cost loans. However, your income and savings have to be means tested to deem whether you can afford it yourself or not.
For more information on grants, visit www.direct.gov.uk or contact your local authority.
Some work, such as installing ramps or a lift between floors, can be done at zero-rated VAT. This can save 17.5% on the cost. If you employ someone who is not aware of this, make sure you get the information you require so that you can reduce any costs you might have to pay out.
Visit www.hmrc.gov.uk for more information on VAT issues.
It is worth thinking about what will happen if you are likely to move at any time. If you are staying where you are, then make the changes you need with the best material you can afford, such as concrete for wheelchair ramps. If, however, you know you will be moving, it could be better to fit wooden ramps that can be easily removed.
Top tips for adapting your home
Whatever anyone’s disability, here are some simple adaptations that will make a big difference:
- Make rooms as light as you can – and ensure lighting levels are consistent throughout the home.
- Fit long-lasting bulbs that don’t need changing as often.
- Decorate with light colours, using a matt rather than a shiny finish.
- Use décor to highlight areas where there are obstructions or a change in level.
- Fit smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, preferably with alarms or other devices to grab attention. The fire service offers a free home safety check and will give free smoke detectors to some clients. Visit www.fire.gov.uk for more information.
Disability products
You can try all types of products for the home in one of the Assist UK Centres: www.assist-uk.org call 0870 770 2866 or textphone 0870 770 5813. They will arrange home visits with company sales reps if required.
For more information on products for different needs, go to www.ricability.org.uk, www.epilepsy.org and www.alzscot.org.uk.
