We are very excited to announce a new branch of our company: Conquer Therapy Home Division. This is a long-ish read, but I promise it will leave you thinking differently about the built home environment by the end. Here is how it has all come together to serve our community…

My Why

A few years ago my husband and I bought a total fixer upper and went down the path of working with contractors and subcontractors to make it all we wanted and more. There were of course some bumps in the road and many items on our wish list were put on hold to pay for some not so fun things, like plumbing. We get asked all the time if we would do it again and my answer is YES! In fact, I helped my sister do the same thing with her fixer upper and love getting calls from friends wanting home design advice. Because of my OT background, it was incredibly important for me during our home renovation to include features that would allow my husband and I to age in place and make it accessible for family and friends that may have limited mobility to the best of our abilities. I am certain we saved ourselves thousands of dollars by incorporating universal design features into our home from the start vs having to implement this down the road. The past few years I have talked about pairing my love for home projects with occupational therapy, but the timing was never right. It did however give me a couple years to research to only find that there is a definite need for OT in the housing industry. You might be thinking, “How in the world does that work?” Well, this blog is going to break it down for you and hopefully get you thinking about your own home environment. 

When I was in occupational therapy school, I remember going through some classes thinking how in the world would I apply all of this information in the real world. We reviewed so many theories, frameworks, medical information, and research to build a strong foundation to allow us to develop a unique skill set to serve clients. One framework that stood out to me was the PEO Model.The PEO Model emphasizes that there are transactional relationships between the person, environment and occupation throughout the lifetime that can affect occupational performance (Law et al.,1996). The better the fit or compatibility between the person, environment and occupation, then the greater the occupational performance (Law et al.,1996). 

When I started working in clients’ homes, this model was such a guiding post to my practice. I finally had the opportunity to see the full picture and make suggestions to the home environment to improve occupational performance for clients and their caregivers in a big way.

Through my never-ending education and clinical experiences,  I have gathered skills that truly help clients break down obstacles to live life to their fullest abilities. 

The Research behind Home Accessibility

While researching home accessibility and universal design, I have found some very interesting and alarming statistics. According to a survey conducted by AARP in 2021, “Home and Community Preferences Survey”, ¾ of US adults age 50 and older want to stay in their current home for as long as possible. However, a study conducted in May 2020 by the US Census Bureau found that less than 10% of homes in the United States are “aging-ready”, meaning they have a step-free entryway, a first floor bathroom and bedroom, and at least one bathroom accessibility feature. I went on to research and found that 1 in 4 US adults live with some type of disability according to the CDC. This link contains even better graphs and facts to educate you on the situation at hand. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html

I could fact drop for days, but I respect that not everyone is as compelled by research as I am so I will stop for now and summarize my why.

The data is showing that the housing industry is not prepared for the baby boomers to age in place or for children that have unique needs that challenge a typical home set up. After gathering data and seeing first hand the daily struggles clients, friends, family members and caregivers have faced or continue to face when the home environment is not set up to support us at all stages of life, I decided I needed to stop letting fear guide me and to use my knowledge to expand my reach. 

Most people are not thinking about incorporating universal design features into home projects, but forward thinking is what will keep you or your loved ones in their home as long as safely possible. Take a moment to think about a time when you or someone you know was injured, broke a major bone, had surgery, or was diagnosed with a serious condition or illness. These times are not the time you want to be scrambling to make sure you or your loved one can return home to recover or maybe pass peacefully at home. More often than one would think, the complete lack of accessibility in a home can put someone in a nursing facility vs in the comfort of home with home health and family support. Something else we often see is clients living in a home that does not support the needs of the client,and it results in caregiver injury, injury to the client, and extreme barriers that limit the client from engaging in meaningful occupations. The home needs to be accessible for the client and the caregivers.These are the situations health care professionals encounter everyday. I totally get that it is easier to live in a “ we will deal with that when it happens” mindset, but I urge you to connect with our team to support you before a move or home renovation project.

When thinking about how I could connect with the housing industry, my head went straight to real estate and the construction industry. I set out to connect with highly qualified professionals in the area to serve clients from a multidisciplinary approach. It is an overwhelming experience to move or renovate, so we are striving to take stress off clients and make the moving and renovating experience less daunting. My goal when thinking about Conquer Therapy Home Division was to stay in the lane I love and focus in on helping clients live happily in place across the lifespan through making homes accessible. My next goal was to build a team of partners to work with to support clients to carry out that dream. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog that introduces the partners we are working with to make homes what they should be for everyone: our happy place!

For more information, check out our home modification consultation page.