cbsnowyowl
08-18-2007, 07:55 PM
Hi I am new here and hoping others of you out there have some ideas...more experience with such things.
I am a 38 yr old with CP which is worsening as I age. Between the ages 4yrs to 19 yrs I walked pigeon-toed and knock-kneed and frequently fell, but did not use any assistive devices. Then in my late teens and early 20s I had a spinal infection which was caused by the flu but behaved like spinal menigitis. Since then I have gone from using just forearm crutches,to crutches and AFO leg braces, to leg braces with walker with using either a manual chair or electric chair outside of home. I began having more difficulties with falls in October of last year, and I fell and split my scalp open Memorial day weekend, (even the emergency room doctor said that he thought I would have had brain damage from the fall, thankfully I'm fine). Since then I have been afraid to walk anywhere, even in my own apartment.
My point is that I have only recently needed to start using my wheelchairs inside my apartment. My current apartment is not wheelchair accessable, I have asked the manager if the bath and bedroom doorways could be widened. She said that they could be widened but that I would have to pay for it. Estimated costs with be $3000-4000 due to a wall needing to be braced with parts of the wall removed and electrical wiring needing to be re-routed.
The complex does not have any accessible units...they don't have such a thing here. Does anyone with more experience with such things have any idea where I can find out what the current ADA requirements are for apartment property owners to provide a certain number of units as accessible housing or being required to make adaptions if the resident asks for it?
Also, if anyone knows of any non-profits that help with funding such construction to make the apartments more accessible?
Any suggestions or advise would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I am a 38 yr old with CP which is worsening as I age. Between the ages 4yrs to 19 yrs I walked pigeon-toed and knock-kneed and frequently fell, but did not use any assistive devices. Then in my late teens and early 20s I had a spinal infection which was caused by the flu but behaved like spinal menigitis. Since then I have gone from using just forearm crutches,to crutches and AFO leg braces, to leg braces with walker with using either a manual chair or electric chair outside of home. I began having more difficulties with falls in October of last year, and I fell and split my scalp open Memorial day weekend, (even the emergency room doctor said that he thought I would have had brain damage from the fall, thankfully I'm fine). Since then I have been afraid to walk anywhere, even in my own apartment.
My point is that I have only recently needed to start using my wheelchairs inside my apartment. My current apartment is not wheelchair accessable, I have asked the manager if the bath and bedroom doorways could be widened. She said that they could be widened but that I would have to pay for it. Estimated costs with be $3000-4000 due to a wall needing to be braced with parts of the wall removed and electrical wiring needing to be re-routed.
The complex does not have any accessible units...they don't have such a thing here. Does anyone with more experience with such things have any idea where I can find out what the current ADA requirements are for apartment property owners to provide a certain number of units as accessible housing or being required to make adaptions if the resident asks for it?
Also, if anyone knows of any non-profits that help with funding such construction to make the apartments more accessible?
Any suggestions or advise would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.