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What home modifications are necessary for someone using a wheelchair after a spinal cord injury? - Sarah Harrison, OT

What home modifications are necessary for someone using a wheelchair after a spinal cord injury?

Sarah Harrison, OT

Occupational Therapist, Craig Hospital, Colorado

Read Bio More Videos by Sarah Harrison
Transcript
Some of the things that OTs look at particularly are bathrooms. So, you want an accessible bathroom—a wider doorway, 32 inches, 34 inches would be even better, you want counter heights that are accessible that the power chair can fit under, so clea... Show More

Some of the things that OTs look at particularly are bathrooms. So, you want an accessible bathroom—a wider doorway, 32 inches, 34 inches would be even better, you want counter heights that are accessible that the power chair can fit under, so clearance under the sink. You want lever handles for your faucets, which makes it easier when you have limited hand function to turn on and off the water.  If possible, you want a roll-in shower without a lip on it, so that you can use maybe a roll-in-shower chair to bathe. A removable shower head in that bathroom, so you can independently control the water. And then also, we look at the flooring of the house. Hardwood flooring, tile flooring, something that’s easy to push on or operate the power chair on. We look at the kitchen—we want the sink to be accessible again, we want the refrigerator to be—you want to be able to open it with side-by-side doors, instead of top-and-bottom.  We want pull-down shelving in cabinets so that patients can reach what they need to do their meal preparation.

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What home modifications are necessary for someone using a wheelchair after a spinal cord injury?

Sarah Harrison, OT

Occupational Therapist, Craig Hospital, Colorado

More Videos by Sarah Harrison
Transcriptadd

Some of the things that OTs look at particularly are bathrooms. So, you want an accessible bathroom—a wider doorway, 32 inches, 34 inches would be even better, you want counter heights that are accessible that the power chair can fit under, so clearance under the sink. You want lever handles for your faucets, which makes it easier when you have limited hand function to turn on and off the water.  If possible, you want a roll-in shower without a lip on it, so that you can use maybe a roll-in-shower chair to bathe. A removable shower head in that bathroom, so you can independently control the water. And then also, we look at the flooring of the house. Hardwood flooring, tile flooring, something that’s easy to push on or operate the power chair on. We look at the kitchen—we want the sink to be accessible again, we want the refrigerator to be—you want to be able to open it with side-by-side doors, instead of top-and-bottom.  We want pull-down shelving in cabinets so that patients can reach what they need to do their meal preparation.

What home modifications are necessary for someone using a wheelchair after a spinal cord injury?
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