A Positive Attitude

One of the things we often think about is that real success for Aging in Place will come when more of today's elders (and the boomers who will follow) develope a more positive attitude toward AIP modifications. I came across an article that put it well: "The key to aging in place, experts say, is to embrace rather than deny the need to adapt living spaces to meet physical changes as mobility, eyesight and hearing decline." This came from an article from the Washington Post, but I found it reprinted in the on-line version of the Hong Kong paper The Standard. Link to The Standard Article.

This article profiles the efforts of 90 year old Charlotte Goldstein to adapt her home to improve safety. The picture shows some basic handrails put up to complement the existing banister on her stairs. A very practical solution and a fairly common project for our company. But I am still more likely to encounter people who say they can make do without the second rail. I recently met with a woman who had already fallen and fractured a collarbone who refused either a second hand rail or any form of slip protection on her stairs because "it just wouldn't look right." However, I think that seldom are these reactions about cost or aesthetics--simple rails are not that expensive and I am as likely to get resistance from the well off as those who struggle on a fixed income. Plus they can be made made to fit in with decor and are easy to remove.

No, unfortunately it is the perceived weakness that such modifications are seen to represent that prevent "embracing" making changes to our homes. That and persistent denial even in the face of real need. Mindsets like these create the most resistance. Only when an increasing number of people see that the virtue is in preparing and that part of being able to keep your home is keeping it appropriate to your abilities and phase of life will a major barrier to successful aging in place fall to the wayside.