Carers point of view: Adapting your house for MND; Anita newton

Adapting your house to meet the needs of Someone suffering form MND needs careful thought, but is vital. (part 1) 

Adapting your house can be a daunting prospect but it is so important to think about things like this early on, as soon as you get diagnosed.

It’s easy not to really appreciate the need at the beginning when the symptoms are mild but because the progression is so quick before you know it you will be needing extra support and if you wait until it’s needed you will find the experience a lot more stressful. My advice is to get organised as early as possible. 

I would also strongly advise you to seek help form local organisations. There are usual several including your local council and MNDA who are willing to come and look at you property and advise as to the adaptations you need. I would however always seek a second opinion as you don’t want to do things that are not necessary and that are costly.   You can also apply for grants and financial help depending on where you live and your personal financial situation.

You need to think about whether your house is suitable for a wheelchair user and whether you can adapt it to your needs. Remember it isn’t just a wheelchair you need to accommodate but also lifting equipment. You also need to consider whether your bathroom is large enough and whether it can be converted to a wet room. 

Before I look at adaptations for your house there are other options available. You could think about moving to a bungalow or another property that is already adapted. Moving can be stressful and you need to weigh up the pros and cons of this for you personally.

You could erect a purpose build structure like a cabin in your garden if space allows.  This could be costly but may not be very different from having the main house adapted. Another possibility is to adapt a garage space which might make attaching utilities like electric and water easier.

When thinking about adaptations to the main house it is a good idea to have a plan of what is needed when. This helps you to focus on prioritising what to do first so that you are safe.