disability
Disability-Inclusive Safety Overview
A clear safety guide inclusive of mobility, sensory, and cognitive needs.
disability safety
SAFETY OVERVIEW
Disability-Inclusive Safety Overview
Mobility Safety
These options focus on barriers, equipment, and movement if you use mobility aids or have limited mobility.
Home Layout and Exits
- Identify at least two exit routes from main rooms you use (bedroom, living room, bathroom) if possible.
- Check whether doorways and paths are clear enough for your wheelchair, walker, or other mobility aids.
- Consider whether furniture can be rearranged to:
- Reduce tripping hazards
- Create straight, wide paths
- Keep essential items within reach from your primary resting area
- Note any heavy doors, stairs, or thresholds that slow you down, and think about alternate routes that avoid them.
- Decide which room feels safest to stay in if leaving the home is not realistic during a harmful incident.
Mobility Aids and Equipment
- Keep primary mobility aids (wheelchair, walker, cane, crutches) as close as possible to:
- Your bed or main resting area
- The main exit you are most likely to use
- If you use removable wheelchair parts (cushions, armrests, footrests), consider:
- Storing backups together in one known location
- Keeping tools needed for quick repairs in a small, labeled pouch
- Think about a backup mobility aid (older cane, manual wheelchair, spare walker) that could be stored with a trusted person if possible.
- Review whether anyone has control over your mobility aids (locking them away, moving them) and how that affects your safety options.
Transportation and Leaving Safely
- List transportation options that work with your mobility needs:
- Paratransit or accessible transit
- Rides from trusted people with suitable vehicles
- Taxi or rideshare services that can take your mobility aids
- Note how to request accessible features (ramp, step-free access, space for wheelchair) when booking transportation.
- Consider places you can reach comfortably with your current mobility (neighbor’s unit, front office, lobby, nearby store).
- If you rely on others to transfer, think about:
- Who can safely help you transfer in a crisis
- Whether any safe location is reachable without that person
Sensory Considerations
These options focus on hearing, vision, and sensory processing differences that can affect safety planning.
Hearing-Related Safety
- If you are Deaf or hard of hearing, list your usual communication methods:
- Sign language
- Text messages
- Speech-to-text apps
- Writing
- Consider notification tools that do not rely on sound:
- Vibrating alerts on your phone or smartwatch
- Flashing light doorbells or alarms, where available
- Text-based alerts from trusted contacts
- Think about how you would:
- Contact support services using text, relay, or chat if available in your area
- Share communication preferences with trusted people
- Identify if anyone controls your communication devices (phone, tablet) and how that impacts your safety choices.
Vision-Related Safety
- Keep essential items in consistent locations so they can be found quickly:
- Keys
- Phone
- White cane or other mobility device
- Medications
- Consider using:
- High-contrast markings on important items (door handles, key hooks, medication containers)
- Tactile markers or labeling systems for quick identification
- Review lighting:
- Identify areas that need better lighting for safer movement
- Place small lamps or nightlights along key paths if available
- Think about trusted people who understand your orientation and mobility style and could assist with safe routes if needed.
Sensory Processing and Overload
- Note situations that increase sensory overload for you (noise, crowded areas, certain lights, conflicts).
- Identify spaces that feel more manageable for your sensory needs during conflict, such as:
- A quieter room
- A space with dimmer light
- An area with fewer strong smells or sounds
- Consider tools that help you regulate or remain oriented:
- Noise-reducing or noise-canceling headphones
- Sunglasses or caps to reduce light intensity
- Small, portable sensory items (fidgets, textured items)
- Think about how overload affects your ability to speak, move, or make decisions, and allow for extra time in your plans where possible.
Caregiver-Related Risks
These options focus on risks that can arise when a partner, family member, or aide assists with daily tasks, transport, or health care.
Dependence and Control Points
- List key areas where you rely on the person for:
- Mobility support or transfers
- Personal care (bathing, toileting, dressing)
- Communication support (interpreting, reading mail, making calls)
- Access to money, transportation, or appointments
- Identify any patterns where support is:
- Withheld or delayed
- Used to pressure you into decisions
- Monitored more than seems necessary
- Consider alternatives for high-risk tasks, such as:
- Another trusted person who can assist sometimes
- Community support workers, if available in your area
- Arranging certain tasks at times when the caregiver is not present, if safer
Information, Privacy, and Communication
- Review who has access to:
- Your medical records
- Appointment information
- Online accounts or email
- Phone or messaging devices
- Consider if the caregiver:
- Reads or filters your mail, texts, or emails
- Answers for you in appointments or calls
- Controls what information you receive from professionals
- Think about low-visibility communication options if needed, such as:
- Using code words with trusted people
- Saving contacts under neutral names
- Accessing messages or accounts from another device when possible
Service Providers and Support Workers
- List any professionals involved in your care:
- Personal support workers
- Home health aides
- Caseworkers or support coordinators
- Therapists or medical providers
- Note who you can speak with privately and who usually has the caregiver present.
- Consider whether there are safe opportunities to:
- Request brief private time with a provider
- Share only the information you feel comfortable disclosing
- Ask about disability-focused safety resources in your area
- Additional tools and professional supports may also be listed through resources at DV.Support.
Medication Safety
These options focus on access to, storage of, and information about your medications.
Medication Access and Control
- List all medications and essential medical supplies you use regularly, including:
- Daily prescriptions
- Rescue or emergency medications
- Medical devices (inhalers, glucose meters, syringes, sharps containers)
- Review who currently controls:
- Where medications are stored
- When medications are given or taken
- Refill reminders and pharmacy communication
- Consider whether any medications are:
- Hidden from you
- Given in different amounts than prescribed
- Destroyed, thrown away, or threatened to be withheld
Storage and Backup Supplies
- Consider keeping a small backup of essential medications, if safe and permitted by your prescriber or pharmacist.
- Decide where a backup set might be stored:
- In a discreet location you can access
- With a trusted person outside the home, if appropriate
- In a labeled kit with other important items (copy of ID, small amount of cash, key information)
- Check expiration dates on any stored backups and note when they need to be rotated.
- List your pharmacy and prescribing providers so you know who to contact if you need emergency refills.
Information and Documentation
- Create a simple list of:
- Medication names and doses
- Times you usually take them
- Any important instructions (with food, no alcohol, etc.)
- Store this list in at least one additional location, such as:
- A wallet or bag you often carry
- A secure note on your phone
- With a trusted person
- Note any allergies or serious reactions on the same list.
- Consider who needs access to this information if you are unable to speak for yourself, and how they would obtain it.
Coordinating Disability and Safety Planning
- Review how mobility, sensory needs, caregiver dynamics, and medication use interact for you.
- Identify the single biggest barrier to leaving or reaching support (transport, communication, physical access, etc.).
- Consider one or two small adjustments that could reduce that barrier, such as:
- Keeping essentials closer to your primary seating or bed
- Preparing a short information sheet about your access needs and medications
- Exploring an additional transportation or communication option that fits your disability-related needs