Got good news today that we got approval for downstairs toilet and wetroom for my son. We are so delighted as it will make life much easier in that dept anyway!! Very early days in application process. OT is referring it off to housing exe this week so we'll prob hear back sometime next year!! OT was saying that will be long process cause its bit compicated as they'll eaiter have to extend onto the side of the house but therell have to be a 1 metre clearence in the drive or maybe convert out kitchen which is prob right size as its just a gally kitchen. If they do this then where do i put my kitchen?? Do they help with the cost of moving it? Apparently they wont go out the back because few years back we got DFG for level safe play space in garden. We live in small semi-detached. livingroom room and dining one room then a small kitchen at the back. Its on a hill so there is about four steps up to the house. Thinks this makes it more expensive cause of foundtions. Hopfully someone has got similar work done already and can give some advise on what worked in their property. Thanks for reading! Cat x

Congratulations that's brilliant news. I don't have any experience and not able to offer any help but I hope it all goes smoothly for you. Good luck

hi, what do you mean by approval? you say that the ot is referring it to housing? do you mean that the ot thinks your son would benefit from a downstairs bedroom bathroom so they are applying to the council for a DFG. sorry for questions just we are in similar situation and ot passed it onto the home improvment agency, one of there guys came out to assess if the property was suitable for adaptation and the most cost effective way this could be achieved. the application then went to panel to be approved ours wasnt a straight forward process and this was repeated several times over 2 yrs. like everything else it maybe dependant on where you live i know you are allowed a little more for your grants?

thanks for response. im in N Ireland so might be different here. here the OT/Health board approve the application/request then advise the Housing Executive who come out and work out most cost effective way to build the bathroom etc. Think they do up a schedule of works which we take and get proposed drawings/plans which they (Housing Exe) then either approve or not. Once this is done we then get a registered builder to complete the work. Im cant work out where they are going put it!! The best place is prob to extend the kitchen to the side and use half the kitchen but that would leave us with a 1 metre by about 3 metre kitchen!! Would we have to relocate the kitchen to dining room then?? Oh i just want to make sure its done right & meets his needs. Itll prob take well over a year to even get anywhere near the actual work being done. Suppose plently of time to try and save up ourselves!!

hi, the first option the home improvement agency gave us was to disect our kitchen diner and put our sons shower room in there!! this would have taken away our dining area the communal space were we eat normal family time and forced us to eat on our laps. extra wheelchair space and independence in our sons walker lost. we would have had to shower and dry him whizzing him up the hallway in a shower chair to access his bedroom to dress him, what were they thinking?? remember you have to live in your house as a family unit and are entitled to a family life and that other members of the house are to be considered!!! this is a legal obligation!! i downloaded a great document from a legal site called "delivering adaptations a good practice guide" this is the document they have to follow.