A Brief Discussion On Home Modifications For People With Disabilities

Home modifications can be defined as alterations and changes made to an accommodation facility to meet the needs of people living with mobility or other impairments. In most of the cases, these modifications follow the rules and regulations set by NDIS. These alterations are made to ensure that the participants can live their lives with safety and independence. On this page, we discuss a brief account of home modifications that NDIS permits.

How Does Home Modification Work?

Home modification is all about an entire range of changes, alternations, and repairs, which make an accommodation facility or home safer and more livable for individuals living with mobility and other impairments.

These modifications can range from minor adjustments to major, extensive changes, involving big budgets, depending on the needs of the participants.

Because of the scope of the term, some may be of the notion that home modifications include any type of home improvement or home renovation. While in some cases, these modifications can be considered as improvement, in most cases it is all about altering homes to make them accessible for people with various physical abilities, including the ones who are aged.

Home Modifications For the Elderly?

Not every home is equipped to accommodate people of every age. For instance, to make the homes suitable for the aged populace, it is imperative to remove those structural barriers, so that they can go about their daily life without any assistance.

The logic behind these modifications is that several old people live in single-family homes that were built long ago when they were younger and their impairments or mobility restrictions were not naturally considered.

What Are The Most Widely Popular Home Modifications That Are Carried Out?

Some of the best examples of home modifications made for the elders or NDIS participants include: rearranging furniture, widening external pathways, or installing any or a combination of the following:

• Wider doorways
• Ramps for Wheelchair, stairlifts
• More spacious internal spaces
• Smart devices for Temperature control
• User-friendly fixtures for light switches or faucets
• Grab bars or handrails
• Door openers
• Walk-in tubs, open, stepless shower areas
• lower kitchen and bathroom countertops, faucets
• Slip-resistant tiles and flooring
• Security systems and emergency alarms

What Are The Major Reasons Behind Home Modifications?

Home modifications, which are participant-centric alterations, are dependent on certain factors. They include:

• Safety concerns or difficulty moving around in the home
• Troubles faced with personal care, like using the toilet, shower or bathtub
• Inability to use home
• Facing problems in achieving goals because of impairments
• Changes needed at home, for better accessibility of the care providers

Complex Home Modifications

Complex home modifications are the changes that generally involve a few specified areas of your home. For instance, they may involve major changes in the bathroom or toilet, or they may involve creating a combination of bathroom and toilet spaces that adds more room for a shower chair or using a hoist.

The NDIA provides funding for hiring the building construction professionals who work with participants to come up with just the right kind of modifications, that suffice the need of participants.

The NDIA provides funding to participants for engaging in building works for complex home modifications, more so the ones that involve high spending and high-risk factors.

For further details, you can contact us at West Disability Hub. Call us to book an appointment with our experts.

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