Creating Disability in the home: the role of environmental barriers in theUnited States

One thousand persons with disabilities were sampled to discover the types o f barriers they encountered in their home while carrying out their daily ac tivities. A 43 percent response rate was obtained. The open-ended questions were submitted to a process of analytic coding and suggested 27 different categories of barriers existed in the homes of persons who have disabilitie s. The findings have implications for rehabilitation practice. Performance of daily activities is greatly diminished by the presence of architectural barriers. Environmental supports can greatly improve performance in daily t asks. These findings are discussed in light of disability policy and implic ations for improving performance of persons who have disability.