Contact with Adult Social Care can make sure you get an assessment from an occupational therapist (OT). Occupational therapy can help by assessing your home and making practical suggestions for helping you participate in everyday activities. An OT can assess your circumstances and help you access equipment (such as moving and handling aids) and assess your home for any practical adaptations (such as widening doorways or accessible showering).
If you need help with accessibility in your home, with specialist equipment or an adaptation to your home, you might be entitled to help and support. The UK government’s ‘MoneyHelper’ website has some good information on funding to adapt your home for accessibility.
Most minor aids and adaptations costing less than a thousand pounds (such as handrails and furniture raisers) will be provided by the local adult social care services. These independent living aids will likely be for free if you are in England or Scotland but if you are in Wales or Northern Ireland there may be a charge.
If your home needs a major adaptation to make life easier, (such as a doorway widening or a wet room installing), there may be financial help available.
The housing and homelessness charity Shelter have guidance (including the legal framework) on grant funding for providing facilities or adapting a home to meet the needs of a disabled person. There is a degree of help available in all four of the home nations.
The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is grant funding for providing facilities or adapting a home to meet the needs of a disabled person, although it is only applicable in England and Wales. In Northern Ireland you will need to contact the Housing Executive to see if there may be grant funding available. In Scotland there may be financial help from the local authority in the form of a means tested grant applied for through your local council’s housing office.
Although there are many mobility and daily living aid retailers on the high street and online, purchasing and sourcing the correct kind of aid or equipment can often be challenging. Living Made Easy is an impartial advice and information website about daily living equipment, and other aspects of independent living. The Disability Living Foundation (DLF)’s team of occupational therapists has contributed to the site and all information has been written by professionals. The website contains advice and guides for anyone looking to buy products. Once you have identified a product, the website will also function as a comparison site and help you find the best value retailer.
AskSARA is a partner website of Living Made Easy and is a self-assessment tool and guide that may be useful for people who are not sure what aid or piece of equipment they need. The tool has bespoke versions for a limited but growing number of organisations and local authority areas across the UK. Individuals can choose from a list of topics relating to difficulties and challenges they might have with different daily activities or areas of the home. A report is then provided which details items of equipment that may be of benefit, and where they can be purchased.
