Accessible%20Bathroom%20Needs.pdf

Parent document: 2024-08-26-f67a1e507b87c30391378d9c40674865-agenda.txt

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Designing for Dignity: Create Hygienic, Safe, and Accessible Restrooms in
Our Community

Do you want to lie down on the floor in a toilet to get changed? How about on the back seat of a
car in a parking lot? What if you had to end the fun early because there wasn’t a place for you to
go to the bathroom? How would you like it if people stared at you because you had an accident
because appropriate bathroom facilities weren’t available? Would you even want to leave your
house and join in community activities?

Contrary to popular belief, accessible restroom stalls are not accessible for everyone. Standard
accessible restrooms are designed for independent use by an individual. They do not provide
adequate space for a manual or power wheelchair or for someone who needs the assistance of
another person. The absence of suitable toilets means that some disabled people cannot fully
participate in our community—or they have to compromise their health, safety, or dignity to do
so. Appropriate restroom facilities will allow people with disabilities to participate in more
activities for longer periods of time.

Although standard accessible toilets have a place is restroom design and can meet the needs of
many people with disabilities, we need to recognize that our community includes children and
adults with complex disabilities. They require and deserve access to hygienic, functional
restrooms that are safe and available for them and their caregivers if they require assistance.
Without an appropriately sized and equipped restroom, a person with disabilities is put at risk
and families are forced to put their own health and safety at risk to assist them. No one should
ever have to be changed on a bathroom floor!

The restroom described below is based on the Changing Places model developed and
implemented in the United Kingdom. It should be provided in addition to the traditional larger
restroom stall built in standard bathrooms which can be used by people with a variety of
disabilities who don’t have significant mobility issues or need additional assistance. They are
also frequently used by larger individuals or a parent with a small child. These populations
should not use the restroom facility described below and should continue to use standard or
family restrooms, keeping this facility available for those who need it when they need it.

The minimum size needed for this type of 10 feet by 13 feet (ca. 3m x 4m). Such a facility must
include:

e Adequate space for a disabled person when they are not in their wheelchair, plus their
wheelchair, the ability to turn their wheelchair, and one or two carers in the room to assist
them.

e Peninsular (centrally placed) toilet with at least 3 feet of space on both sides for the
wheelchair user. Large lever handle rather than standard lever or push button flush.

e Wall-mounted vertical grab bars on each side of the toilet.


e Drop down support rails placed on both sides of the toilet to offer support when
transferring and while seated.

e Free-standing adult sized, height adjustable changing bench.

e Ceiling track or a mobile hoist to assist the caregiver with safe transfer to the changing
bench.

e Moveable privacy screen or curtain to go around the changing bench.

e Wall-mounted sink with space below the bowl to allow a wheelchair user to access it
safely and comfortably. Lever taps or motion sensor. Ideally this would be a height
adjustable sink to accommodate various ages and sizes of people.

e Wall-mounted vertical grab bars on each side of the sink.

e Paper towel dispenser rather than hand dryer (the noise of the electric hand dryers is very
upsetting to many people with sensory issues, autism, etc.).

e Three trash cans (one for general waste, one for sanitary products, and one large one for
incontinence materials).

e Non-slip floor.

e Toilet paper dispenser mounted within reach of the toilet at an appropriate height.

e Soap dispenser mounted on the wall by the sink at a height for wheelchair user.

e Full-length mirror to ensure clothing is adjusted properly before leaving the restroom.

e Coat hooks for hanging coats and bags so they are not on the floor.

e Optional shower (with detachable shower head) and shower seat

Examples of designs, equipment, layout, other recommended equipment, and photographs of
completed restrooms can be found in Changing Places: A Practical Guide. Although all of the
information in this guide isn’t relevant to the United States, it provides useful examples, ideas,
and tips for designing a safe, hygienic restroom.