Building a home... with seizures in mind.

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We are building a home in the near future and now knowing that my 8 year old has seizures (which have been tonic in nature in their most extreme form) I thought what an awesome opportunity to build it out to suit his needs. We will probably build out his room as a mother-in-law suite so that if he stays with us longer than the other kids he'll be more comfortable. What are some things that I can do around the home to make it safer and more seizure-prone friendly? We also have aging parents (and double wide strollers for the younger ones!) so wheel chair accessible doors for the entire house are a must along with no steps or stairs anywhere. Are there special things I can do for the bathrooms? shower with a bench with built in hand rails? Emergency call buttons? Lighting to avoid? Anything in the kitchen I should think about? What about study space? Are some TVs/Computer display screens better than others?

Comments

I do not know about the

Submitted by just_joe on Wed, 2015-10-14 - 14:55

I do not know about the number of seizures your child has. I do know I had different kinds of seizures. One was a petite mal (absence seizure) another was a focal seizure which could look like an absence seizure but it could also move into a convulsive seizure (generalize). I had a Grand mal (tonic clonic) So I do know many of the seizures I had could be bad and I could get hurt. I used common sense and hated being treated differently. I hated the school treating me differently, I wanted to be treated just like everyone else. I hated not doing this or that because I had seizures. To me it id no good since the people wanting to keep me safe and over protected knew nothing about the seizure other than what they looked like. They didn't know what people watching one lookedat from my point of view when I was in one. They didn't know the drain of energy from a seizure. But I did. I also tried not to let them know about the drain. You might want to find out just how much energy the muscles use since they are jerking with all the strength they have, That strength is a lot more then the amount people think they have. My step father made a mistake when I was in a convulsive seizure. He only did it once. He grabbed my right arm at the wrist trying to hold me down. Well at the young age of 13 and weighing 85 lbs. I picked him up with that 1 hand and tossed him across my body. He was Marine and weighed 235 lbs. All your child is is a kid that is like everybody else. You need to build the house as you want it. Use common sense. True we do need to be checked on from time to time. But to build a house to just protect him makes little sense, Will you be padding the walls since he might hit his head? A person that is blind doesn't need a special computer. They have programs that can make any computer work for them. Just like a person who is paralyzed.If your child had a heart ailment would you be building the house differently? What about if he has a hearing problem. A wheel chair I can see. But steps or stairs should be no problem since they have ramps or can build them into the house. A person can have both. I am in a house right now that had steps and a ramp. A senior who had a stoke uses it since they were wheel chair bound. At 96 it might not be long for Mother.

I do not know about the number of seizures your child has. I do know I had different kinds of seizures. One was a petite mal (absence seizure) another was a focal seizure which could look like an absence seizure but it could also move into a convulsive seizure (generalize). I had a Grand mal (tonic clonic) So I do know many of the seizures I had could be bad and I could get hurt. I used common sense and hated being treated differently. I hated the school treating me differently, I  wanted to be treated just like everyone else. I hated not doing this or that because I had seizures.  To me it id no good since the people wanting to keep me safe and over protected knew nothing about the seizure other than what they looked like. They didn't know what people watching one lookedat from my point of view when I was in one. They didn't know the drain of energy from a seizure. But I did. I also tried not to let them know about the drain. You might want to find out just how much energy the muscles use since they are jerking with all the strength they have, That strength is a lot more then the amount people think they have. My step father made a mistake when I was in a convulsive seizure. He only did it once. He grabbed my right arm at the wrist trying to hold me down. Well at the young age of 13 and weighing 85 lbs. I picked him up with that 1 hand and tossed him across my body. He was  Marine and weighed 235 lbs. All your child is is a kid that is like everybody else. You need to build the house as you want it. Use common sense. True we do need to be checked on from time to time. But to build a house to just protect him makes little sense, Will you be padding the walls since he might hit his head? A person that is blind doesn't need a special computer. They have programs that can make any computer work for them. Just like a person who is paralyzed.If your child had a heart ailment would you be building the house differently? What about if he has a hearing problem.  A wheel chair I can see. But steps or stairs should be no problem since they have ramps or can build them into the house. A person can have both. I am in a house right now that had steps and a ramp. A senior who had a stoke uses it since they were wheel chair bound. At 96 it might not be long for Mother.

I do not know about the number of seizures your child has. I do know I had different kinds of seizures. One was a petite mal (absence seizure) another was a focal seizure which could look like an absence seizure but it could also move into a convulsive seizure (generalize). I had a Grand mal (tonic clonic) So I do know many of the seizures I had could be bad and I could get hurt. I used common sense and hated being treated differently. I hated the school treating me differently, I wanted to be treated just like everyone else. I hated not doing this or that because I had seizures. To me it id no good since the people wanting to keep me safe and over protected knew nothing about the seizure other than what they looked like. They didn't know what people watching one lookedat from my point of view when I was in one. They didn't know the drain of energy from a seizure. But I did. I also tried not to let them know about the drain. You might want to find out just how much energy the muscles use since they are jerking with all the strength they have, That strength is a lot more then the amount people think they have. My step father made a mistake when I was in a convulsive seizure. He only did it once. He grabbed my right arm at the wrist trying to hold me down. Well at the young age of 13 and weighing 85 lbs. I picked him up with that 1 hand and tossed him across my body. He was Marine and weighed 235 lbs. All your child is is a kid that is like everybody else. You need to build the house as you want it. Use common sense. True we do need to be checked on from time to time. But to build a house to just protect him makes little sense, Will you be padding the walls since he might hit his head? A person that is blind doesn't need a special computer. They have programs that can make any computer work for them. Just like a person who is paralyzed.If your child had a heart ailment would you be building the house differently? What about if he has a hearing problem. A wheel chair I can see. But steps or stairs should be no problem since they have ramps or can build them into the house. A person can have both. I am in a house right now that had steps and a ramp. A senior who had a stoke uses it since they were wheel chair bound. At 96 it might not be long for Mother.

Well I do understand from

Submitted by just_joe on Sun, 2015-10-18 - 16:38

Well I do understand from your point too. I worked in the construction field for a few years. But then I started using some common sense. Having epilepsy and walking around on scaffold boards is no the best thing to do.. I do understand more. I was just letting you know what a person might think from my point or the persons point of view.I am in a house right now that has both stairs and a ramp. It wasn't built that way but we did need the ramp since Georgia had strokes. So yes I do know where you are coming from since the expansion was added 25 years ago. we didn't need the ramp until about 5 years ago.Please just read what I post and understand it is posted more from what I went thru. Nothing special was built for me. I did hit the concrete now and then. but then the ground under the grass was hardpan. As for computers they change in a matter of months now so I wouldn't worry about them. Recessed lighting does add a little but then they can put off a lot of heat. By all means do put in ceiling fans that are reversible. Heat rises so it needs to put the air down in the winter and up in the summer. Oh and a great thermostat is one that you can set. Needing more than ON and OFF I had one that also had FAN. I cut my electricity in half with that. While home it was ON. When we left for work it was moved to fan. The fan kept the air moving so it didn't get hot or too cold. Once we got home it was back to on.You might also think about a walk in shower. I haven't had a bath since 1963. Walk in showers can also help your inlaws. They have benches or seats and hand rails. You can look at many different one by going to Lowes or Home Depot.One thing we added to mothers house was a built in desk She and Herchell had books and they had a computer. We added electricity and set the middle part as a desk both sides were book shelves. It was built where it could be changed several ways/ A desk on one end the book shelf in the middle and the other ends is now where the tv is. so it is versatile and can be changed several ways

Well I do understand from your point too. I worked in the construction field for a few years. But then I started using some common sense. Having epilepsy and walking around on scaffold boards is no the best thing to do.. I do understand more. I was just letting you know what a person might think from my point or the persons point of view.I am in a house right now that has both stairs and a ramp. It wasn't built that way but we did need the ramp since Georgia had strokes. So yes I do know where you are coming from since the expansion was added 25 years ago. we didn't need the ramp until about 5 years ago.Please just read what I post and understand it is posted more from what I went thru. Nothing special was built for me. I did hit the concrete now and then. but then the ground under the grass was hardpan. As for computers they change in a matter of months now so I wouldn't worry about them. Recessed lighting does add a little but then they can put off a lot of heat. By all means do put in ceiling fans that are reversible. Heat rises so it needs to put the air down in the winter and up in the summer. Oh and a great thermostat is one that you can set. Needing more than ON and OFF I had one that also had FAN. I cut my electricity in half with that. While home it was ON. When we left for work it was moved to fan. The fan kept the air moving so it didn't get hot or too cold. Once we got home it was back to on.You might also think about a walk in shower. I haven't had a bath since 1963. Walk in showers can also help your inlaws. They have benches or seats and hand rails. You can look at many different one by going to Lowes or Home Depot.One thing we added to mothers house  was a built in desk She and Herchell had books and they had a computer. We added electricity and set the middle part as a desk both sides were book shelves. It was built where it could be changed several ways/ A desk on one end the book shelf in the middle and the other ends is now where the tv is. so it is versatile and can be changed several ways

Well I do understand from your point too. I worked in the construction field for a few years. But then I started using some common sense. Having epilepsy and walking around on scaffold boards is no the best thing to do.. I do understand more. I was just letting you know what a person might think from my point or the persons point of view.I am in a house right now that has both stairs and a ramp. It wasn't built that way but we did need the ramp since Georgia had strokes. So yes I do know where you are coming from since the expansion was added 25 years ago. we didn't need the ramp until about 5 years ago.Please just read what I post and understand it is posted more from what I went thru. Nothing special was built for me. I did hit the concrete now and then. but then the ground under the grass was hardpan. As for computers they change in a matter of months now so I wouldn't worry about them. Recessed lighting does add a little but then they can put off a lot of heat. By all means do put in ceiling fans that are reversible. Heat rises so it needs to put the air down in the winter and up in the summer. Oh and a great thermostat is one that you can set. Needing more than ON and OFF I had one that also had FAN. I cut my electricity in half with that. While home it was ON. When we left for work it was moved to fan. The fan kept the air moving so it didn't get hot or too cold. Once we got home it was back to on.You might also think about a walk in shower. I haven't had a bath since 1963. Walk in showers can also help your inlaws. They have benches or seats and hand rails. You can look at many different one by going to Lowes or Home Depot.One thing we added to mothers house was a built in desk She and Herchell had books and they had a computer. We added electricity and set the middle part as a desk both sides were book shelves. It was built where it could be changed several ways/ A desk on one end the book shelf in the middle and the other ends is now where the tv is. so it is versatile and can be changed several ways

I read your post. Emergency

Submitted by seogigtricks on Tue, 2017-09-12 - 08:40

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