RTC on Independent Living Produces Guide for Making Homes Visitable by Wheelchair Users

All too often, people with mobility limitations are excluded from the party, gathering or social event because the host’s home is not visitable. The Research and Training Center on Independent Living has produced “Making Homes Visitable: A Guide for Wheelchair Users and Hosts,” a resource that provides information about how people can make their homes visitable by people with mobility limitations – and why it matters.

This resource is intended to help people understand that they can address barriers in their current homes to make visiting possible for friends and family who have mobility limitations. The guide offers tips on how hosts and potential guests can have productive conversations about what would be needed to make a visit happen and how to assess the visitability of a home. It provides solutions for improving visitability, which are categorized as temporary, moderate or permanent based on the relative difficulty, cost and/or permanence of the solution.

Dot Nary, the principal author, explained that home visitability does not involve the same accessibility standards that are required for public buildings by the Americans with Disabilities Act. “This is acceptable because visitability modifications are intended to enable visiting for a limited period versus more extensive modifications that would allow full use of the home,” she said.