Spina Bifida

A home that grows with your child

Spina bifida is a neural tube defect present at birth. The most serious form, myelomeningocele, can cause moderate to severe disability, including not being able to move the legs. Many children use braces, a walker or a wheelchair, and what they use changes as they grow.

That is the part families do not always hear early on. A ramp built for a toddler's stroller is not the ramp a ten-year-old in a power chair needs. We plan for the child you have now and the teenager they will become.

What usually changes first

• The front door. A no-step entry or a ramp with a landing wide enough to turn.

• The bathroom. A roll-in shower with a hand-held spray, a sink your child can pull up to, and grab bars set at their height, not an adult's.

• Doorways and halls. A 36-inch door and clear floor space in the bedroom so a chair can turn.

What families tell us

The most common thing we hear is that the house was fine until the wheelchair arrived. Bathing gets hard first, then getting outside without help. Parents also tell us they want the changes to look like part of the home, not like a clinic. We agree.

How we plan with your OT or PT

Your child's therapist knows their transfers, their reach and where they are headed. We measure the house, share the drawings with the therapist, and adjust before anything is built. The written estimate goes to you and to the therapist, so the paperwork a waiver or case manager needs is already in hand.

Texas Medicaid waiver programs such as STAR Kids (MDCP) and CLASS may pay toward minor home modifications if the plan approves them. Caps are lifetime amounts, and the plan decides what is medically necessary. See who pays for home modifications in Texas.

Ready to talk? Book a free in-home visit.