Promoting autonomy through home adaptations. Appropriation of domestic spaces in Italy

Abstract

While the person-environment relationship is one of the structuring frameworks of daily life in general, for disabled people this relationship is a decisive one. ADA is an action research project which assessed the person-environment relationship of people with severe disabilities and subsequently proposed home adaptations to improve their autonomy, well-being and quality of life. The article introduces the framework of ADA and its strategy to personalise home adaptations while considering participants multifaceted profiles. The impact of ADA on the life of its recipients in a context of fragmented disability policies is then discussed. Space appropriation processes and effects on trust in institutions and agency of participants are assessed. A sociologically informed perspective on habitation is adopted to conduct a reliable and multidimensional ex-post evaluation of the effects of home adaptations.

Points of interest

• The article discusses the strategy and impact of a home adaptation project carried out in a context with insufficient disability policies.

• Home adaptations affect how disabled people live in their homes in many ways. Home adaptations change what behaviours disabled people can perform, but also how they feel and what their spaces mean to them.

• Adaptations are more effective when customized on the specific needs of each disabled person. This is challenging and requires experts from different fields.

• Getting disabled people and their families involved in the assessment of their homes promotes their self-confidence and trust in the process, especially if they had previous disappointing experiences with other disability services and policies.

• People who had successful adaptations are eager to share their experience. Actively involving them in supporting other participants could have positive effects and should be further investigated.

Keywords:

• Disabled people
• accessibility
• habitation
• ex-post evaluation
• housing adaptations
• interdisciplinarity

Acknowledgements

The ADA Project Research Team was composed of Antonio Laurìa (scientific coordinator), Beatrice Benesperi, Paolo Costa, Fabio Valli and Junik Balisha. The Research Team collaborated with the Regional Accessibility Centre (CRA) of Regione Toscana during all implementation phases. We are grateful to all the people who contributed to the ADA Project, directly or indirectly: the Health Districts personnel; the architects who participated in the Workgroups; the personnel at the Regional Accessibility Centre and at the Health, Welfare and Social-Health Integration and Sport Department of Regione Toscana; and, above all, the disabled people and families who participated in the project.

Authors’ contribution

Paolo Costa and Leonardo Chiesi laid out the conceptual framework of the paper and edited its final version. Paolo Costa and Leonardo Chiesi co-wrote the introduction and the conclusions. Paolo Costa wrote the sections on ex-post evaluation and on the impact of adaptations. Paolo Costa and Antonio Laurìa co-wrote the sections on home adaptation and on the ADA Project. Leonardo Chiesi wrote the sections on appropriation of domestic space and on habitation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The ADA Project was funded by Regione Toscana.