Increasing the accessibility of a conventional cooking range for wheelchair users.

The American Journal of Occupational Therapl' Wheelchair users often have difficulty cooking WIth a conventIonal freestanding cooking range, in part because the 36-in. high working surface is too high for them. Barrier-free standards suggest a working surface height of 28 in. to 34 in. (710-86'5 mm) for wheelchair users (American National Standards Institute, 1986; Canadian Standards Association, 1990; Mace, 1991). The problems experienced when using a conventional cooking range include difficulty with moving pots, danger of burns due to poor clearance of arms over elements (especially when controls are located at the back). difficulty with checking the progress of cooking food hecause the rims of pots are ahove eye level, and inahility to stir the contents of potS (Hale, 1979). Some solutions that have been used are improving the visual access by installing an angled mirror over the stove top, installing a motor-driven adjustable height counter with an integrated cooktop (Mace. 1991), and using electric mohility devices thaI allow for positional adjustment of the seated person. As part of a living lahoratory project examining technology's role in improving the quality of life of clderly persons living in the community, we conducted a home visit that resulted in the development of a modification of existing electriC cooking ranges to improve accessihility. The visit was to the home of a 72-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis and severe chronic obstructive lung disease. She is nonambulatoly, has parararesis, and has limited active trunk control in Sitting. Her urper extremit)' function is limited hy weakness and the range of one shoulder is further limited (shoulder flexion and abduction are less than 90°) by a torn rorator cuff. A home care worker or visiting nurse assists the client in the morning to rise, conduct bowel and bladder routines, wash. dress, ;md transfer ro a powered wheelchair. She functions independently until evening when an attendant prepares and transfers her to bed. The client Jives alone in a single-story bungalow that W<lS modified on the outside to allow access hy a porch lift and on the inside to allow passage of her narrow powered chair through some of the internal doolways. To allow her to rrerare light meals during the day, her son made several moc1ifications to the kitchen, including lowering the counrerrop to a height of 31 in. The cooking range, however, remained at a height of 36 in. The client used the range for cooking and occasionally used the oven for baking when she had assistance with turning the oven on and putting in and removing the food. She was unahle to easily lift pots or rans Onto rhe cooking elements or to stir ,mel observe the contents of the pots. The controls for the oven and the elements were at the hack of the range. She was ahle to reach rhe controls for rhe left clements hecause of the space hetween the cooking range and the hasement door. She rrefcrred to use the front right hurner because rhe ran or kettle could he moved across the range tOr ann onto the