Certified Age in Place Specialists.  The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) grants this designation to remodelers, occupational therapists, designers and other professionals who want to specialize in the field of home modifications for seniors and others who desire to age in place.

In an article for the Chicago Sun-Times, David Mack writes :

In a three-day training course required to earn the designation, “the first day is working with and marketing to older adults,” said James Lapides of the NAHB. Role-playing is an essential part of this process, including sensitivity training.

“Remodelers will don sunglasses covered with petroleum jelly to simulate poor eyesight, grasp a tennis ball in each hand and cover each hand with an athletic sock to simulate arthritis, all the while trying to move around in walkers or wheelchairs,” he said. The second and third days focus on technical solutions and business practices.

Jeremy Hanson of Independent Living Solutions in Chicago took the training course. What he learned from the program are the correct techniques and methods for creating accessible living environments for aging seniors.

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By Gunnar Baldwin and Lenora Campos, Ph.D.

Remodeling the bathroom is a good starting place to make a home more sustainable for aging in place. AARP research shows that more than half (52%) of American homeowners age 45 and older are interested in remaining in their homes as they get older. Green remodeling reduces monthly utility bills while universal design elements increase comfort and improve lifestyle, and all people — no matter their age — appreciate additional comfort and safety. Today, advances in technology make it possible to improve both convenience and performance.

Additional features that are popular for the enlarged spa master bath:

• Exercise equipment such as stationary bicycle, and treadmill;
• Separate tub with features such as warm air injected through tubing that creates a massage and aroma therapy experience accompanied by music systems integrated into the tub itself and chromatherapy lights to induce that relaxed mood;
• A separate shower without entry barriers in case the homeowners ever need to wheel in. One way to achieve this is to have the floor gently slope toward a perimeter drain at the far side. Continue reading →

By Laurie Orlov

Successful aging is not an oxymoron. First the textbook definition (from “The Realities of Aging, Kinsey/Kart): “aging in which external factors either have a neutral role or counteract the effects of internal aging processes, resulting in little or no decrements in functioning.” Whew. What does that mean?

The AARP Healthy@Home study, which surveyed 907 seniors between 65 and 84, helps boil that down to plain English. They asked responders to identify both the importance and their satisfaction with attributes of successful aging, shown here in descending order of importance, with the first column the percentage who ranked the attribute as very important and the second column indicates the percentage that said they were completely satisfied with that aspect of their life:

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