Even though I didn’t live in a mobility access/wheelchair accessible dorm on campus during undergrad, I still used several dorm room disability hacks to make it easier and more comfortable to move around my dorm. As a student diagnosed with Chiari Malformation and then-undiagnosed POTS, I benefitted a lot from simple housing accommodations for disabled students and finding ways to make dorm rooms more accessible so that I wasn’t pushing through pain or discomfort in order to complete basic tasks. Here is a list of dorm room disability hacks that my friends and I used to make our dorms accessible for our needs, and examples of requests that dorm maintenance staff can help with.
Can you request a larger mattress in college?
One of the first questions that people ask me when they hear that I lived in the dorms with chronic pain is whether I used the school-issued Twin XL bed. While students can request full-size beds or the use of a student-purchased mattress as part of their disability accommodations for housing, I used the school-issued Twin XL bed and added other things like mattress pads and pillows to make it more comfortable, along with a bed rail. Some of my friends did get approved for full-sized beds or brought an adjustable bed frame from home, but again this was arranged through Disability Services and housing in advance.
Related links
- How To Choose A Dorm And Pick College Housing
- How To Create A Disability Services File
- How To Explain Disability Accommodations To Professors
- Common Classroom Accommodations For Low Vision
Adjust the height of the bed
Most dorms feature adjustable beds that can be put on risers so that they are higher, or that can be adjusted to be lower to the ground so that a student doesn’t have to jump to get on the bed. Bed height can be adjusted at any time during the school year, but adjustments must be done by maintenance or housing staff for safety reasons.
By default, the beds at my college are raised to be about four and a half feet above the ground. While this is great news for people who want an abundance of storage under their bed, it is less great for people who don’t want to jump in and out of bed or risk falling over. I made a maintenance request when I moved in for my bed to be adjusted to a lower height and was there for when it was adjusted so that I could decide what height I wanted. This made it so much easier to get in and out of bed, especially since I didn’t have to use a stool.
Related links
Make the shower easier to use
While some dorms have a built-on shower chair or bench, students with mobility or balance issues may prefer to bring their own shower chair that they can store in the bathroom or in their dorm when not in use. Other options for making dorm bathrooms more accessible for disabled students can include:
- Placing shampoo and other items in a high contrast shower caddy
- Using a hanging towel rack or adjustable rack that is easier to reach
- Attach a faucet handle extender
- Have a chair for sitting down at the sink (the shower chair can be used as long as it isn’t wet)
- Add bath mats to the bottom of the shower to prevent slips
- Use pumps or automatic/hands-free soap dispensers
- Place coozies around squeeze bottles to improve contrast and make them easier to press
- Add a standing mat in the bathroom
While these strategies require students to purchase items from their own budget, many of these items will be useful for years of dorm living and beyond.
Related links
- Low Vision Assistive Technology For The Bathroom
- Nail Trimming and Low Vision: Adapted Nail Clippers
- Disability and Classroom Accommodations For POTS
- Using Disability Transportation Services In College
- Organizing Hanging Storage With Vision Loss
Hang mobility aids in a convenient area
For students that use canes, have a place near the door to store mobility aids that someone might want to grab before heading out for class, the dining hall, or a late-night fire drill. I use a white cane (blindness cane) and would hang all of my canes on a hook near the door, next to my student ID lanyard so I can easily grab items before heading out. Walking canes can also be placed in an umbrella holder or next to the door— I would store an elbow crutch on the opposite side of the door against the wall.
Some of my friends are part-time wheelchair users, and they would “park” their wheelchair in their closet or have it stored next to a dresser or desk so they could easily grab it if needed.
Related links
- What If I Lock Myself Out Of My Dorm?
- Twelve Blindness Cane Storage Solutions
- Dealing With Dorm Fire Alarms: College O&M
Use a bedrail to help avoid falls
On my second day of college, I literally rolled out of bed and fell on the floor, so my parents bought me a bedrail to ensure that wouldn’t happen again. Even though I felt a bit self-conscious for using a bedrail designed for toddlers, this tool was one of my favorite disability hacks for college dorms, and could be folded down when not in use. Many of my friends actually bought bedrails for their own dorms after seeing mine.
Related links
- Ten Weird Things I Brought to College
- Managing Chronic Migraines in College
- Tips For Keeping A Dorm Room Clean With Chronic Illness
- How I Explain My Brain With Chiari Malformation
Swap out the desk chair
The college-issued desk chair at my college rocks back and forth, and some students may prefer to swap out the desk chair for something more stable. Alternatively, students can improve the comfort of their desk chair by adding a cushion or lumbar support. For students that do want to swap out the college-issued desk chair, the resident director for their building or another housing staff member will have to come get the college-issued chair and document that it is not being used in the student’s room.
At my college desk, I asked my brother to remove the school-issued hutch so that I could fit my desktop computer. This was stored in a closet when I lived in an apartment-style dorm, but for my other dorms someone from housing came to remove it for me.
Related links
- How I Set Up My College Desk With Low Vision
- Questions To Ask When Choosing A Desktop Computer For College
- How I Set Up My Tech Internship Desk: PM Intern With Low Vision
Adjust closet rod height and drawer height
Many college dorm closets have adjustable college rods, and maintenance can lower the height of closet rods to make it easier for students to reach in their closet and grab items. Students call call maintenance at any point during the semester to make this adjustment, though the student will need to be present in the dorm during the adjustment.
Another closet-related accommodation that some of my friends requested was to have an additional set of college-issued horizontal drawers in their dorm instead of the tall college-issued vertical drawers that were challenging for them to reach.
Related links
- Getting Dressed With Assistive Technology For Vision Loss
- Organizing Dresser Drawers With Vision Loss
- Organizing A Bedroom Closet For Vision Loss
- Doing Laundry In College With Low Vision
Switch out lighting
The overhead lights can be incredibly harsh and disorienting for people with photophobia or sensitivity to light. Students with disabilities can request an accommodation to have the light switch and overhead lighting disabled in their dorm room. Most people I know (including myself) just use surface lighting like lamps to illuminate the room. Since I had trouble registering smart lightbulbs on my college wifi network, I used a remote-controlled outlet to turn lamps on and off in my room.
One lighting accommodation I did have for my room is that I asked to remove the motion sensor for my dorm lights, because they kept turning on in the middle of the night. This was done by maintenance and did not require approval from the disability housing staff or someone else within housing, but I did have to talk to the resident director for my building to get permission.
Related links
- Lighting And Low Vision
- How I Decorate A Bedroom For CVI
- Environmental Accommodations For Low Vision Students
- Disability and Classroom Accommodations For Chiari Malformation
Make sure paths are clear
While it can be challenging to keep a dorm room perfectly clean, it is critical that walkways need to be clear and free of tripping hazards or items that could cause injury. Strategies for managing this can include having furniture pressed against the wall, keeping cables on top of desks or dressers so that they don’t overflow onto the floor, and keeping items within the line of sight. Since I have reduced contrast vision, I would make sure that my dorm items didn’t have colors that blend into the floor or other common surfaces so that they were easier to locate.
Related links
- Organizing Shoes With Vision Loss
- How To Organize and Identify Cords For Low Vision
- High Contrast and Low Vision
- Ten “Odd” Things I Do With Double Vision
Use blackout curtains
Blackout curtains are a fantastic tool for minimizing light, but may need to be fire treated every school year— check with housing policies for more information. I used the same pair of blackout curtains the entire time I lived in a dorm, hanging them with a tension rod and Command hooks so that I could block out as much light as possible when dealing with a migraine. I did forget to fire treat them one year which led to a housing violation, but students can request fire treatment for curtains, tapestries, or other large fabric items at any point in the semester.
Related links
Other tips for how to hack an accessible dorm
- Have a mini fridge for storing small meals, medication, or other items in case students can’t make it to the dining hall for whatever reason— learn how to keep them organized in my post Organizing A Dorm Mini Fridge With Low Vision
- My friends and I mostly lived in single dorms, meaning we had no roommates but shared a bathroom. Learn more in How To Choose A Dorm And Pick College Housing
- Interested in learning more about my neurological condition? Read How I Explain My Brain With Chiari Malformation
- Want more posts about dorm accessibility? Browse Dorm and On-Campus Housing category
Published September 5, 2019. Updated January 2025