Dealing With Disability: How to Improve Your Life at Home
Have you been recently diagnosed with a disability? Or perhaps you got diagnosed a while ago, but the symptoms you are experiencing have worsened over time and are now significantly affecting how you live your life?
Dealing with a disability is no mean feat, especially if it’s one of the many ‘hidden’ disabilities that make people appear otherwise symptomless to strangers. You’re likely reading this because you want to make your life more comfortable.
One area that you undoubtedly want to improve is your life at home. If you find that your abode makes completing some everyday tasks very challenging, the following guide will help you improve the situation.
Assess Your Mobility Needs
The first thing you need to do is have an assessment carried out of your home to determine how you can improve your mobility at home. Some people find they might need adaptations carried out, such as wheelchair access to their external doors.
You may find that you need to have doorways widened to accommodate a wheelchair or walking frame. You may even need to have a stairlift installed if you have trouble walking up and down your stairs, or you may need some other form of using technology to assist those with disabilities.
Your assessment should also take into account any future mobility issues that you may experience so you can ‘future-proof’ your home from now. For example, you may struggle to get into and out of bed in the future, so you might want to weigh up the hospital bed advantages over regular beds to make your bedroom more accessible.
Determine Your Care Needs
Do you find that you could do with some help and support in your home each day? For example, you may need assistance with everyday household chores like laundry or tending to your garden.
You may feel that you could do with some personal care help if you struggle with bathing and getting dressed. As you can imagine, in-home care and support costs can be high depending on your specific needs.
With that in mind, you should apply for CDS (consumer-directed services) assistance in your area to get some financial and practical support for your care needs. They can offer professional advice, whilst still allowing you to retain your independence and self-sufficiency. You make the decisions, but with the aid of an expert who can offer the best route for the life you wish to live. Consumer Directed Services will find the right caretakers to help you with larger goals, or every day tasks like getting around your home. You may also wish to ask if a close family member or friend can help you with some of your care needs.
Make sure you check all of your resources when looking for a good insurance company to help you find the care you need. Tapping into TPD insurance claims by Curo can get you what you need based on your financial contributions.
Maintain an Active Social Life
Having a disability doesn’t mean you have to give up your social life. That’s why it’s essential to maintain it as much as possible by taking part in social events with your friends and family members.
There are several reasons why you shouldn’t give up on your social life. Firstly, it means you get to spend time out of your home and surrounded by the people you love. Secondly, you decrease the chances of developing mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
Lastly, you get to do all kinds of things like enjoy your hobbies or learn new ones, meet new like-minded people, and generally enjoy your life.
Final Thoughts
If you have a newly diagnosed disability or one that has gotten progressively worse over time, you should ensure your home is still suitable for you to maintain an independent lifestyle.
Hopefully, the above hints and tips will help you achieve that goal.
