Home adaptations

Display published date: No

image: Woman in adapted kitchen MS can cause particular issues around the home.

Having MS doesn't necessarily mean you will need to make any changes to your home, but sometimes the right adaptations can ensure it continues to suit your day-to-day life. This can even mean the difference between staying in the home you love and having to move.

The first step is to see if you are eligible to get an occupational therapist (OT) to do an assessment and see what would be useful for you. Ask a member of your health or social care team to refer you.

(External) Read more about occupational therapy services

You don’t need to be a home owner to have adaptations made - landlords must make reasonable adjustments for disabled tenants. Private landlords can apply for financial support for necessary works.

This page has information about:

Who can help
Adaptations room by room
- Kitchen
- Bathroom
- Bedroom
- Living room
- Stairs
- Entrances and exits
- Garden
Planning larger adaptations

For larger adaptations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is the major source of funding. In Scotland, the main source is the Scheme of Assistance.

There’s more detailed information in our MS Essentials publication ‘Adaptations and your home’ .

Who can help?

Locally-based agencies like 'Care & Repair’ and ‘Staying Put’ offer support with home adaptations in partnership with local authorities.

They can help you to get financial support and coordinate building works and payment. Some will also help with things like gardening and advice on preventing falls around the home.

Each nation in the UK has a coordinating body for these agencies:

Other useful organisations

(External) Independent Living Centres and (External) the RNIB’s regional centres display and demonstrate equipment.

(External) The Disabled Living Foundation and (External) Ricability can provide information about many types of disability equipment and mobility products.

There are also many private suppliers of gadgets and equipment. Sometimes a product that is easily available in a household store can do the job just as well as a specialist product.
(External) The Disability Equipment Register and (External) The Mobility Market advertise second hand equipment.

Adaptations room by room

This list of adjustments, items of equipment and small adaptations will give you an idea of what's available, but there are many more.

For a complete list read our MS Essentials publication “Adaptations and your home ”.

Kitchen

Single lever or automatic taps and easy-grip handles on cooking utensils and cutlery can help if gripping is a problem.
A ‘perching stool’ can help you avoid standing up to do the washing up or ironing
Non-slip mats can keep things from sliding around worktops when preparing food.

Bathroom

If you have problems with balance and standing, bath and shower benches or boards provide a place to sit when in the bath or shower
Use non-skid safety strips or a rubber bathmat on the bath bottom and add grab bars to the wall or edge of the bath for support
A removable showerhead with a long hose can make rinsing easier.
A raised toilet seat, which ﬁts over your existing one, can help with getting up and down from the toilet

Bedroom

An occupational therapist can show you the most effective ways to get in and out of bed
Raise the height of the bed with correctly fitted equipment. Don’t use improvised raisers (such as wooden blocks or bricks or telephone directories)
A ‘bed lever’ attaches to your bed and can help you to sit, lie, stand and steady

Living room

Use ‘reachers’ to pick things off the floor or down from a shelf
A chair that’s the right height for you with filled-in arms can be easier to get up from. Filled-in arms also stop magazines and TV remotes from falling through.
Avoid raising your chair height with piles of cushions. This is bad for your back and can make getting out of the chair more difficult

Stairs

Two banisters can be a real help with balance
Stair lifts are also a good option for some people

Entrances and exits

image: Hand on a hand rail Making sure you have easy access to and from your home is as important as improving things inside
Fitted handles on the side of a door frame can be helpful to get up and down a step. Adding a half step to reduce the height of the step can also help
If you use a wheelchair sometimes, you might want to have ramps fitted, or use temporary ones
If you use a wheelchair, you might need to widen doorways to fit through

Garden

Grow plants in containers instead of in the ground
Use long-handled garden tools saving you from getting down to ground level
Use automatic watering systems
Paving or decking is generally easier to maintain and more accessible

The charity (External) Thrive has more suggestions about making gardening accessible and enjoyable.

Planning larger adaptations

If you need to have bigger works done like putting in ramps or a lift, widening doors or installing a level access shower or wet room, you may get help with funding from your local authority. There are certain things you might want to consider, to make the process as smooth as possible:

Works could take several weeks and involve different people, so write down everything you’ve discussed and agreed with everyone
Prepare for disruption: You can’t avoid it all, but you can keep it to a minimum
Make sure grants or other financial support are agreed before you do anything, including signing any contracts or scheduling work
Prepare by getting quotes and advice, including checking planning permission and building regulations. Your local Citizens Advice Bureau , the local authority housing and social care departments can help
Tell your mortgage provider and home insurance provider what you are planning

For a full list, see our MS Essentials publication “Adaptations and your home ”.

Page tagged with: