4 Easy Ways Of Making Your Home More Special Needs Friendly
If you are struggling to cope with the care of your child, then you could begin by changing how your home looks and feels. Many times, we don’t take into account just how far we will need to go, in order to give our children the better life they deserve. When you have a special needs child, their needs are unique to them. They cannot be treated so widely or broadly as you can other children. You must listen to their demands, hear what they’re saying and see what is affecting their moods. The home is where most of these issues are tackled best because they have the ability to adapt to different materials, items, shapes, sizes, colors, etc.
Eating space
Where you eat with your child is very important. You want to have a little sensory excitement as possible, in the room itself. Just the food is the center of the mealtime you have with your child. The reason why you should not have bright lights at the table or in the room is to not cause any distractions. A special needs child might become enthralled by the light, look up at the bulb, and directly into the filament. On the other hand, having too much natural light is often going to draw their attention outside. It’s important that they finish their meals without these types of distractions.
Therefore it’s a good idea to eat with their backs turned to the windows, as well as relying on the stimulation of their knives and forks instead of the room’s lighting. You want to have boring but reliable furniture in the dining room, so nothing can rip their attention away from their plate. The eating space you need might need to be conjured or redesigned in the home. You can have a separate dining space for your special needs child from the dining space you normally use for the rest of the family. However, separation from their kin might be too much, so spacing is important.
A space to rest
Often you will find that children with special needs have to take naps throughout the day. They have so much going on in their minds, that they can feel tired during times of the day, that other people wouldn’t. So what kind of room or space do you need to create to give your child the best chance of getting a nap?
- Make sure that you have blackout curtains. This means they aren’t like other curtains which allow little shards or pins of light through, they just totally block out the sun.
- You can also have darker shades for wallpaper. The less vibrant the less distraction they provide.
- You should also get a white noise machine and or app for your phone. This can be something like a monotone that is playing all the time and or a pitched noise which can give something subtle to focus on and drift off to sleep.
- You can also use a different kind of mattress, one which won’t bounce or cause them to shift around at night, while he or she is asleep.
- Limit the light in the room, i.e. a dimmer switch for the ceiling light and possibly, use dark shade.
A safer bathroom
A bathroom is no longer just a bathroom in your home, it has to be a special needs bathroom. Don’t worry there are no drastic changes to be made. Look on NetVoucherCodes.co.uk where you will find 10% off orders of over £200 for bathroom items and designs. The bath you could have is one that has a swing door. This can effectively mean, that your special needs son or daughter need not to risk falling over or slipping while trying to get in and or out of the tub. The other special needs friendly designs you can have are automated seats that shut when you rise from them.
You can also have non-slip tiles on the floor to help your child stay on their feet while they are in the shower. The tiles would be made out of sandstone, which is soft and can give the natural foot more grip on wet surfaces. It’s vital that you have handrails all over the bathroom, so your child can always hang onto them and steady themselves if they ever feel dizzy. Allowing them to sit down if they feel dizzy, is a good idea too, so include little stools or chairs beside the sink or bath.
Have a reading space
It’s no secret that special children will have different needs when it comes to education. They will require time to learn things, and they may not be able to go to schools with the other children. So having an at-home learning space is crucial to their development. You can make this simply by expanding a reading nook.
Do you have a room that can be expanded or perhaps emptied to make a reading space? If you don’t you have it so that a room can be quickly converted or made into such an area. You need relaxing chairs, such as beanbag chairs, lounge seats, winged reading chairs, and or pillows, and throws which can be placed on the floor would work well too.
The reading space should have a lamp which can mean the main ceiling lights don’t need to be used and make the space too bright. However, it can also have a white noise machine too, to help your child focus and or dive deeper into the books they are reading. Having a minimalist approach to the tables, chairs, bookshelves is the key. This way you won’t be providing a distraction.
Making a home that is livable for a special needs child is not easy but it’s not rocket science. You can implement all of these things within a week and your children will feel safer, more engaged, and experience more stable moods.
*this is a collaborative post
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This is great! It is often something we don’t think as much about as we should. I especially agree with the blackout curtains. My son’s room is super dark and it makes a great space to rest. Two other resources are Wendy Valente who runs an interior design business called Live Well Design and offers a Designing Interiors for Autism service. Another great resource is Bob Dane of Child/Senior Safety who offers free remote consults to be sure our homes are as safe as possible for our special needs loved ones!