OT in Construction

As the daughter of a contractor, I have heard a countless number of conversations of how difficult it will be go in and change an entire layout of a house for someone with a disability. Recently, I was able to work an open house for my dad, telling people about the "Chandler" house design that he developed specifically for the aging population, which happens to be the majority of his clientele. This is a single story home with widened doorways (wide enough for an individual in a wheelchair to enter), wide kitchen space, and a large shower with a chair, rail, and zero step entry. Since developing this home, he has built multiple more of the same plan, mostly for individuals without disabilities. Although he may not have known about 'Universal Design', he has started building houses with the concept in mind. 

When working the open house, my dad and I talked about different changes that he could make to the houses for them to be more accessible, even things like making a master bedroom closer to the guest for a person that may have a child with autism and needs to keep a closer eye on them. Just a week ago my dad told me about a man in a wheelchair that loves to grill, and how he was developing a plan to make the back porch accessible. After learning about universal design in class, Caitlyn and I immediately called our dad with more ideas, non-slip flooring and changing the height of electrical outlets. He loved the ideas and was already thinking of advertising these "Universally Designed Houses". I never really expected to be working with my contractor dad as an OT, but I am excited to continue to learn about this, work with him on these ideas, and hopefully show the construction industry the importance and feasibility of universally designing homes.