Certified Aging in Place and Universal Design
Posted on Mar 7th, 2009 by Doug Marsh VP, CR, CAPS, GBP | 0 Comments
3/7/09 CAPS AND UNIVERSAL DESIGN
A few months ago I eagerly attended training for a certification in Aging and Place (Certified Aging in Place Specialist) and universal design. It was very informative and included how to market this certification, ethics, and how to be with the Clients that might need this service from us. Since there are a few different levels of where Clients might be in their process it was very educational to look at how to interact on those levels. The first, and probably most common level, is Aging in Place considerations during the design process for Clients who are aware of their plan for staying in their home and are older than say 50. For a ten year plan it starts to make sense to consider Aging in Place. Often times Clients will state “we are staying here forever” and are at the age where they can really see the benefit now of shaping their home to handle the future needs. We can look at the shape of the corridors, master closet spaces, and most importantly, master bathroom. We would consider adequate turning radiuses, door way widths, access for reaching for stuff on shelves or in cabinets, cabinet configurations for rolling in under counter space, roll in shower design, and hardware designs. On the exterior the approach to the main entry doors is a major factor just for basic access. We would look at steps and ramps etc.
The other levels to consider for aging in place are those Clients that already are experiencing some physical issues, whether they are hearing or vision impairment and or dexterity issues and the Client that has experienced a traumatic event and needs immediate modifications. In the class the instructor had us wear super dark glasses, put a sock over our writing hand, and grip a tennis ball in that hand. This exercise went on for 2 hours during which we attempted to write while gripping a pen with that sock covered ball in hand. It was an eye opener. The beauty of a universal design approach is that it just feels better to anyone because it is a more spacious.
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