New podcast episode: Exclusive interview with the Minister for the NDIS Amanda Rishworth

Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) can create greater independence for people with disability, while also allowing their other supports to be delivered better and more safely. 

However, badly designed SDA risks Australia developing social infrastructure that doesn’t live up to its potential. 

Recently, the Summer Foundation brought together 15 people with lived experience of disability and a consultant architect to co-develop design principles that will drive innovation in SDA. 

Here, we share key insights from the process in the form of 5 things people want – and don’t want – in SDA. 

5 things people with disability DO want:

1. Universal accessibility lets people undertake daily activities independently and with dignity.
   Access – to the home, from the home and within the home – is fundamental to get right. Universal accessibility reduces demand on others and enables greater autonomy, but it also removes barriers to activities that make life meaningful.
   
   “We have a garden club and some of the beds are raised and I’ve been enjoying planting and digging…but some of the beds are inaccessible to me.” – Lived Experience Partner
   
2. Adequate space to move around freely improves quality of life.
   There must be greater consideration for home layout, and the ways in which design can remove friction and improve the flexibility of a space. Well-designed SDA should let people with disability move around safely and efficiently, while also enabling and encouraging activities that improve quality of life, such as fitness, hobbies and entertaining visitors. 

“Doing the 20 point turns in a manual wheelchair gets a bit tiring.” – Lived Experience Partner

3. Designing for modification and customisation can support changing needs.
   Some design elements can be universal. However, SDA should also plan for customisation to balance the current and future needs of people with disability. This could look like reinforced ceilings and walls to support the addition of grab rails and ceiling track hoists.
   
   “I have to have rails of course, to you know, hoist – get in the shower and toilet, but they couldn’t do one rail because there’s no beams, they forgot some of the beams.”
   – Lived Experience Partner
   
4. Assistive technology (AT) increases control.
   Good AT gives people with disability greater control in their environment, helping them to access support and amenities, and feel more safe and secure at home.
   
   “I love the intercom because all you [have to] do is utilise the intercom and it can get down to the staff room and say, hey, look, I need some assistance immediately. And someone will be up here within two minutes.” – Lived Experience Partner
   
5. Sensitive sensory design improves comfort.
   Sensory elements like temperature, light and noise may be felt more acutely by people with disability, and need to be carefully considered in the design process. For example, block out blinds can help with light sensitivity, and sensor lights help increase visibility on the approach to the home.
   
   “I like to know that there’s enough lighting outside. So when I pull up in the cab, there’s sufficient lighting around… so the taxi pulls up, the sensor light comes on, and I’m able to access – to go inside without feeling… afraid.” – Lived Experience Partner 

5 things they DON’T want:

1. Housing design should support, not separate, families.
   Not all households look the same. Yet, assumptions about people with disability lead to SDA designed for the “stereotypical norm” – frequently to the detriment of existing household arrangements.
   
   “…the idea that people with disabilities are just only themselves and [that] they don’t come with anyone else…” – Lived Experience Partner
   
2. Poorly chosen locations lead to inconvenience and isolation.
   SDA developments in decentralised locations have trickle-down effects, separating people with disability from essential services, meaningful activities and community.
   
   “That’s the other problem with SDA in [rural town], is they’re all like 5 or 6 K’s [kilometres] out of town, not near shops, not near anything.” – Lived Experience Partner
   
3. Support should be close by, but not automatically onsite.
   The ability to choose when and how to engage supports is important to maintaining a sense of privacy and independence. This can be achieved by providing options to people with disability – such as proximal, but not onsite supports.
   
   “If I need help, I can call on them. And if I don’t, I don’t have to see them. Which works for me because I want to be as independent as possible.” – Lived Experience Partner
   
4. Homes should feel like homes, not hospitals.
   Design elements that create a sense of home and increase comfort have the power to make SDA feel like home and “something not hospital-like”. People with disability value the opportunity to have input, too – such as choosing colours.
   
   “I need a garden. I need a backyard… I need a tree – I just need a home that looks like a home that regular people would have. But with accommodations for what I need.”
   – Lived Experience Partner
   
5. Generic technology can create frustration.
   Not all assisted technology is created equal. Things like light switches that are inaccessible from bed, or windows that aren’t automated hinder people’s ability to adapt their homes for their comfort – and cause great frustration.
   
   “If I don’t have support [the windows] just stay open.” – Lived Experience Partner  

SDA must be designed to be adaptable, functional and liveable for people with disability. 

SDA providers can get it right from the get-go by incorporating the perspectives of those with lived experience into the design process.