Listen
What are you trying to do?
The person experiencing the barrier is the expert on the problem. We start there.
About Access Made Iowa
Useful things should fit actual people.
Access Made Iowa exists for the small, specific accessibility problems that fall between mass-market products and highly specialized medical equipment.
Our approach
Start with the barrier, not the catalog.
A maker can often change dimensions, grip, position, spacing or controls in ways mass-produced products cannot. We use that flexibility carefully, with a clear safety boundary.
Prototype
Make the smallest useful change.
Simple is good. A practical spacer or grip can matter more than an elaborate invention.
Revise
Real use beats theory.
If the first version misses, we learn from it and adjust when the project remains safe and feasible.
What we are not
Not a medical-device manufacturer. Not a product catalog.
We focus on low-risk adaptations where a failed prototype is inconvenient rather than dangerous. Structural, weight-bearing, medically critical and other high-risk projects are outside our scope.
See the safety boundaryCost
The adaptation itself is free.
Recipients pay only exact postage when able. There is no handling fee, markup or required donation.
Nonprofit status
Officially recognized as a 501(c)(3).
Access Made Iowa is an Iowa nonprofit corporation recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3). Qualifying charitable contributions may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Our adaptations remain free. Donations are always optional and never purchase priority.
There has to be a better way.