Table of contents
Do you have a home that is accessible to people with walking difficulties or disabilities? If you have family or friends who are elderly, wheelchair users, blind or have another condition that limits movement, your home may need some adaptations.
Take the quiz and find out if your home is already adapted to welcome these people with comfort and safety. And also check out our tips on how to make the home more accessible.
What is an affordable home anyway?
Some people find it difficult to move around or use certain rooms in a house without help, such as wheelchair users, blind people, older people and those with permanent or temporary restrictions on movement. Temporary restrictions can be the case for people recovering from surgery or a fracture.
So, a house or apartment with accessibility takes into account the comfort and safety of those with limitations. The adaptations to be made include, for example:
- Free access to any part of the house.
- Possibility of unhindered movement.
- Access to switches, taps, and shelves.
- Protection to prevent falls and accidents.
Quiz on affordable housing: test your knowledge
Let's learn about how to increase home accessibility in a relaxed way? Answer the questions in our quiz and find out if your home is already accessible for people with walking difficulties.
Accessible housing for older people
What adaptations are important to make a bathroom safer for older people?
a) Braille panels on the wall and protective screen on the window
b) Support bars on the walls and stool in the bathroom stall
c) Steps at the entrance door
Correct answer: Alternative B. Falls in the bathroom can be dangerous, so grab rails and a shower stool reduce the risk of accidents.
What should an adapted floor for older people look like?
a) Waxing is essential
b) No floor adaptations are required
c) Install non-slip flooring, especially in the kitchen and bathroom, to reduce the risk of accidents.
Correct answer: Alternative C. The use of non-slip floors or even stickers facilitates safe walking for older people.
Wheelchair accessible house
Which of the following only contains items from a wheelchair accessible home?
(a) access ramp at the door, light switches placed at a lower point on the wall and building with elevator
See_also: How to clean aluminum doorb) sink without counter for easy access, houses with steps between rooms and low shelves
c) Decoration where furniture is in the middle of rooms and bathroom without adaptations
Correct answer: Alternative A. The access ramps and the elevator facilitate the wheelchair user's access to the home. And the lower switches allow the wheelchair user to operate them while sitting in the chair.
Which item is NOT part of a wheelchair accessible toilet?
a) Shower head with long hose, to facilitate hygiene
b) Power socket next to the toilet
(c) door adapted to allow the passage of the chair
Correct answer: Alternative B. There is no need to install a socket near the toilet, but a shower that allows the wheelchair user to bathe alone and a door of adequate width for the wheelchair to pass through are essential.
Accessible home for the blind
Which of these is NOT part of making a home safe for blind people?
(a) leave chairs in place at all times to prevent them from obstructing the path.
(b) keep internal doors open to facilitate movement
c) Use high carpets in the house
Correct answer: Alternative C. Carpets, especially tall ones, can cause blind people to trip, so their use should be avoided in the home.
What characteristic makes furniture dangerous in a house where blind people live?
a)Painting in dark tones
See_also: How to clean burnt cement?(b)pointed corners
(c)height exceeding 1,5 meters
Correct answer: Alternative B. The safest pieces of furniture are those with rounded corners. Corners can cause painful accidents.
Affordable housing quiz template
Let's check your score, have you mastered accessibility care or do you still have a lot to learn?
- From 0 to 2 hits: you need to study a lot about accessibility to know how to adapt your home. But rest assured, because at the end of this text you will see tips to make a home more accessible!
- 3 to 4 hits: you already have some knowledge about the subject, but you can learn more. The following tips may be useful for you
- 5 to 6 hits: you have a good grasp of accessibility guidelines at home. Let's learn a bit more with the tips below?
12 tips for an accessible home for everyone
1 Accessibility starts at the front door, so having a ramp helps a lot.
2. try to keep the furniture against the walls, ensuring that the central area of the rooms is free for circulation.
3. shelves and racks should be at a height accessible to all.
4. non-slip flooring is very useful to prevent falls. Also, avoid waxing the floor.
5. avoid placing rugs on the floor, especially tall ones, as these decorative items can cause falls.
6. switches and power sockets need to be at a height that everyone can reach. The ideal is between 60 cm and 75 cm. If there are children in the house, it is advisable to use socket protectors to prevent electric shocks.
7. speaking of switches, they should ideally always be located near the entrance doors of the rooms, for easy access.
8. in the case of elderly and wheelchair users, it is also good to have an auxiliary lamp with a switch next to the bed.
9 While we're on the subject of the bed, take note of its height - it's important that the person can get up and down easily on their own.
10. a tip is to have a bedside table to leave useful items such as glasses, medicine and water.
11. grab bars at strategic points on the wall help prevent falls. In bathrooms, the use of these safety items is essential.
12. the shower rail in the bathroom can cause falls, so using a curtain instead of a sliding glass door is safer for the elderly and blind.
Did you like our quiz, then check out our exclusive content on adapted house for the elderly !
