Description

Instructor: Paul Spite

In millions of homes across our country, and in the homes of people we love, existing residences are slowly but surely becoming prisons for their occupants. This happens as the aging process inevitably removes our ability to successfully navigate stairs and perform daily tasks required to live and survive independent. Societal options exist to move from private residences into congregate living facilities, where oversight and care are offered at various levels for those facing challenges. But few are interested in thus surrendering their independence. We prefer to just age-in-place.

It is possible to remain at home as physical and / or mental deterioration makes doing so more challenging. Given the amount of research that preceded establishing design standards to accommodate the handicapped, new structures can be designed which are far more user friendly to the elderly. Changes to existing homes can also be made in incremental steps as needs arise, just not as efficiently as doing so from scratch.

The knowledge and technology to enable our elders to stay at home are well established. All that is lacking are finances to do so, the time to do so, the will to do so and wide-spread dissemination of knowledge on how to do so.

The last of those issues is addressed in this work.

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

• A thorough understanding of physical challenges that make aging-in-place more difficult.
• An increased awareness of cognitive issues that make aging-in-place more difficult.
• Resolvable issues faced by the elderly while navigating outside the home.
• Changes in typical lighting strategies that are beneficial to an aging population.
• Proper design of exterior amenities to facilitate increased enjoyment of nature by an older population.
• The impacts of different choices in finishes in reducing dangers faced while aging-in-place.
• Design choices that make common areas in multi-family housing more user friendly to the aged.
• Changes in cabinetry needed to accommodate use by the handicapped

This course covers:

• The Scope of This Work
• Problems to be Expected with Aging
• Expect Resistance
• Potential Changes Ahead
• Outside the Home
• Common Areas in Multi-Family
• Inside an Individual Home
• Alarms and Alerts
• Electrical and HVAC System Concerns
• Other Available Resources