Deciding on an adaptation to your house can be a big step, particularly for major adaptations like lifts. This week we had a look at some recent reports and evidence to discover whether adaptations, major or minor, were a good investment. Of course we can’t hope to cover everything, so we are looking to offer a few talking points and to start a conversation about how adaptations may have affected your health, for better or for ill.  

Independence

To put it simply, your house should be tailor made to your own needs regardless of what those needs are. It is where you spend most of your life, and where you expect to find comfort and rest. It is no surprise then that there is much evidence to support the claim that effective housing adaptations improve the well being and health of a resident. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation found in a study that “adaptations restored confidence, dignity and self respect. They promoted independence, reduced stress and allowed people to interact with their families.” It also found that “Before alteration, people used words like “prisoner”, “degraded”, and “afraid” to describe their situation; following adaptation work they spoke of themselves as “independent”, “useful” and “confident”.” Here we have very tangible evidence of the effect innovation and technology can have on independent living, with particularly strong words used by those interviewed in the study.

Children

According to another report, this time on disabled children and home adaptations, it was found that compared to other disabled groups, it was disabled children that were the least likely to live in “suitable accommodation”. Successful housing adaptations were found to have similar effects on children to those mentioned above, but also gave the child “greater self-reliance”. Unsuitable housing was seen to be a source of increasing parental stress. Parents also described the negative impact unsuitable housing had on their child’s “well being and development” and their other children’s “physical and emotional well being”. This makes sense if you consider that housing adaptations are designed to make life easier, and more independent, and a child living in a house without the means to live independently will grow up more reliant on others.

Of course as these children grow up, they may want to achieve the ultimate independence – leaving home. This option should be available to everyone as it is seen by many as integral to growing up and asserting independence. Minor and major technological innovations are making this a more achievable goal for more people.

Adaptations

“Adaptations improved health, produced a range of lasting positive effects, and the overwhelming majority of users would have used resources in the same way” according to one study. It would certainly seem that greater ease of living associated with adaptations would reduce daily niggles and frustrations, awkward twists and strains. These little frustrations can have an all pervasive effect on life, affecting happiness, social skills, family life, education and so on, so the reduction of these can have a massive effect on a persons life.

The government currently offers Disabled Facility Grants, which vary depending on where you live, if you are disabled and need to make changes to your home. Of course this depends on circumstance, not every adaptation can be successful. So we invite you to discuss your experiences.

Do you believe a successful housing adaptation has had a positive effect on your health? Have you had a frustrating experience with an adaptation? Let us know…