When work is part of your lifestyle

At In Your Home we talk a lot about the home environment fitting one's lifestyle, which encorporates our family situation, our stage of life, our hobby's and passions  as well as any impairments we might deal with. And increasingly this lifestyle view includes a suitable home workspace or office. 

Architect and author Charles Schwab had a good article on the topic you can read here. If, like me, you work from home (even on a part time basis) then designing a functional home office is an important part of keeping the home environment in step with your lifestyle.  A few key themes in the article for me are:

1. Ensure there is an egress path that does not take you through the house.  This can be purely a safety concern (if the house is on fire you can get away) but it also helps to make the office more professional and set off from living areas, which is good both if you plan to have clients visit you and also to create a mental seperation between work and home. My office is actually in a detached former garage, so I commute 15 feet across the patio.  I find it much easier to turn off work for awhile than if my computer is in the house.
2. That mental separation is great for stress reduction and balance.  Build in other design elements that will help you manage stress, such as access to a nice exterior space, a couch or comfortable chair for a change of place during the day, maybe a music system or a good surface to practice your putting.  My office includes a small kitchenette where I can get up and make a cup of tea without getting too distracted.
3. Having a bathroom handy is also a great idea--and a dedicated half bath is especially important again if clients will be coming to your home office. I find it also give flexiblity.  I often start work in the wee hours of the morning and wind up squeezing shaving or showering into a mid-day break. If you are adding a bath or powder room in the design of a your office, ensure it is visitable (a wheelchair user can easily navigate in and out.)
4. Natural light is important--ensure you get plenty of it.  Charles says to face the desk away from the windows to avoid glare. That's a good idea, but my preference is to face out where I can see the weather and the hummingbirds at their feeders. It also encourages me to look up from my computer screens regularly, which is good for the eyes. So, my desk sits up against a bank of windows that is protected on the outside by a large eave.  In the winter when the sun is low (and the clouds part), I have a roll-up blind on the outside to block the sun--in the summer the angle of the sun and the shade trees take care of that for me.

There are a lot of other issues covered, from electrical requirements and lighting to landscaping.  Definitely worth a read.
    

It's about spirit

I came across this post today from Universal Design Partners in Virginia.  Watch the videos--I was really moved by the spirit exhibited by the rehabilitatioin patients.

To me, that is one of the goals of our business-helping to maintain spirit. We hope that our clients who have impairments find them much less troublesome and that their environment is supportive. Constant struggle erodes the spirit, so we hope that minimizing the struggle helps maintain it.

And really, I applaud the patients at the Shepard Center (and the staff) for being willing to have some fun and put themselves out in the world.  Inspirational. Every remodeler and builder who works to create environments better suited to their client's abilities could stand to watch these and be reminded of the human spirit they are charged with protecting.

http://universaldesign.org/the-rehabilitation-experience-and-why-universal-design-increases-independence-and-changes-lives

The importance of mindset

I'd like to thank Tim, a PT in Northern CA for catching my colleague Brian on a very valid issue of proper mindset.  A while back Brian was interviewed for a video segment on aging-in-place. You can see the video at the link. As Tim said, some good information.
 

http://www.seniorhometours.com/Portland-Oregon-Your-Retirement-Connection-Video-of-Aging-In-Place-Interview-and-Living-with-Family-Discussion.html

But Tim makes a great point, to wit "I could not help but to cringe on the 3 occasions when the term "wheelchair bound" was used.  As you know, a wheelchair allows for independence and therefore does the exact opposite of 'bind'."  Tim's exactly right.  While I'm sure there are some people who, once fully ambulatory, now feel "bound" to their chair, in reality it is their chair that enables them to get out and about in the world, it is only binding from the perspective of what was, not what will or can be. Mobility is key to our wellbeing. 

His comment made me think of some wheelchair racers who passed me by while I was running a 10K some years ago. While they were moving too fast for me to ask, if I should have had the inclination to do so, I doubt that they were feeling tethered.

It also made me think of what can truly bind the wheelchair user--ineffective access.  While instances of barriers and poor design are rampant in our cities, many chair users can more effectively navigate in much of the public world than in their own home.  And our public policies don't help much there. A few years ago we were called to urgently build a ramp for a couple.  The husband needed twice a week kidney dialysis and had recently lost his ability to walk. Medicaid provided the wheelchair and the transportation, but would make no accommodation for getting him in and out of the home.  And this was not a couple of small steps that could be bumped down. Like providing a car but no key and no way to open the garage door.  Their frustration (and fear of what would happen if they could not get a solution) was palpable.

Assistive devices and modifications go hand in hand as things that cut the ties that bind us and make our lives easier.  But we need to have the proper mindset of what they bring to our lives when built or used well, rather than thinking of them as symbols of loss.

Body Dryer

This product made its way through my e-mail scanners--I rarely pay attention to those messages, but this appears to be another product coming over from the UK/Europe where product design for bathing accessibility seems to be ahead of what we have over here. It is a full body dryer, making it easier for someone to dry off after a shower without bending or assistance. The claim is that cost to operate is about the same as laundering towels--suppose that depends on how often you wash your towels tho.

Can't vouch for how well it works yet, but seems an ideal product for lots of folks.

http://www.tornadobodydryer.com/featuresandfaqs.html

Designs that are great for everyone.

To follow up on the last posts a bit, let's talk about the Moen Digital IO series of electronic shower valves and controls. These new valves put all the plumbing behind the wall except for a small control panel that can be placed anywhere in the shower area.

When we remodel showers, we often bring the shower controls to the front of the enclosure, so they are easier to reach for a caregiver or someone with a balance issue, or moving them to the back wall where they are convenient for a seated bather. This electronic controller would eliminate the need to all that additional plumbing, helping to reduce the complexity of the install (and offset some of the cost of the device.)

But you can even get them with a remote control. Moen says that it would allow you to turn on the shower from across the room, however I suspect that few people have such an open floor plan for that to make a lot of sense. However, it totally eliminates any concern about where the controls are placed. Someone with balance problems can start the shower without having to reach in, and no one needs to risk getting hit with a cold spray of water--you stand safely outside the shower, use the remote to turn it on, and step comfortably in. Whereas my old solution of locating the controls in the location that best fit the user with a limitation meant that the shower was only optimized for a single person. Now, inherent in the design is that it is optimal for every user.

This principle is taken further with the fact that the controls have 4 preset temperatures--one for each member of the family. Especially useful, for example, if you have MS and need to have a cooling shower. But it is a feature that is of wide use--my wife prefers much hotter showers than I do. While we have a thermostatic valve, with this device I would not have to readjust it every time I get in, I just hit the button corresponding to my setting.

There is even a pause function--which uses the universal "II" symbol that we see on video and music players.

I haven't spoken to the folks at Moen to see what their motivation for this design was. But to me it speaks of a innovation that is targeted to provide comfort and ease for all shower uses, and it just so happens that it will have an enormous impact on the ease with which a lot of folks who are less mobile than they used to be or who have a disability manage their ADLs.

Prices on these electronic controls have continued to decline, and while the Digital IO line is still a premium over a standard valve, it is much closer to the range at which it becomes affordable. As prices drop further, I think we will see such systems as the smart standard for our shower remodels.

Design evolution

Another set of thoughts on this theme is that as technologies and design evolve and mature, often this leads to a convergence that makes them more accessible to a wider variety of people. Certainly costs tend to decrease, making the designs more accessible. But abilities and general acceptability tend to expand as well, widening the appeal of newer iterations of a technology.

A case in point may be the evolution of what are now being called Personal Mobility Vehicles or PMVs. Today a PMV might be a scooter chair, a golf cart, or a Segway for the more adventurous. These devices are becoming ever more popular forms of transportation, either for those who lack the mobility to walk distances or for alternative forms of transport. In many retirement communities golf carts are a de facto alternative to a car. In fact, I recently read that about half the injuries on golf carts (they are rather unsafe vehicles) occur off the golf course.

Scooter chairs, on the other hand, are slower and therefore safer, but certainly have a stigma, are not always easy to manuever, and their size and limitations can sometimes make them a frustrating experience for both the rider and for ambulatory people who are sharing the sidewalk, common space, or kitchen.

Enter the modern PMV. One prototype is the Toyota i-swing. http://tinyurl.com/nv5zjz Read how it was described when displayed at the 2005 Toyota Motor Show: The single-person vehicle package boasts an individual design with a “wearable” feeling. Its low-resistance urethane body is covered in cloth to soften any impact while operating near people, and an LED illumination panel can be customized to display an image to suit your mood.When traveling in a bustling street full of people, the i-swing can operate in a two-wheeled mode that takes up little space, so that it is possible to travel while keeping pace and talking with someone on foot. When there is a need to move quickly, the i-swing can change to a three-wheeled mode, which is fun to travel in. In addition to the stick control, a pedal control can be used to provide a fresh cornering feeling, as you shift your body weight as if you were on skis.The i-swing proposes the concept of using A.I. communication to enable it to grow, learning the habits and preferences of users by storing relevant data about them.

Here, in one device, we have customization, adaptability for the user and compensatory systems (collision avoidance) so that I do not have to master a joystick to navigate safely. I have a design that is tolerant of the errors I make and sensitive to those around me.

This is another example of where application of smart design and UD principles result in a design that would be a better solution for wide range of people and applications than any of the current technologies. It's all just a prototype now, but clearly moving in a better direction, evolving the technology.

Design for the universe or the user?

I've had several good responses to my recent post on Universal Design. In particular Bill Shackleford made some good points about the derivative effects of design for accommodation.

I don't disagree that designs and technologies which start with the intent to accommodate limitations to abilities often spawn solutions providing much wider benefits. Nor am I saying that we should not try to design solutions for to help accommodate specific limitations. In fact, I have been working on a theoretical framework and typology for assistive technology that address just this dynamic. My goal is that if we better understand that at some level all technology is assistive and that its benefits can be leveraged to the greater good, we can make progress more quickly and efficiently.

But I was making a different point in my original blog. Foremost, I was saying that we do Universal Design a disservice when we only present it as a way of dealing with disabilities. When presented in the fashion, many in the mainstream will marginalize the message. And that works against creating a world with fewer barriers.

Second, Bill says:

There are many (MANY!) other examples of well designed products and systems in mainstream use that appear to have been 'universally designed', but in fact were initially targeted for persons with disabilities - to 'accommodate' them.

Certainly there are. But that is a statement of current reality, not necessarily the ideal process. If from the start we had addressed the needs that Bills examples address with an orientation toward how the solution could more widely benefit, we might have gotten to that end state sooner. And I would be willing to bet that there are many things designed to accommodate a disability that have fallen by the wayside because they were obviated by better designed, more universal solutions.

Scott Rains pointed out a term "inclusive design" and I like the phrase "user centered design" which is one that resonates with Bill's comment that he begins his design process thinking about his users, not design principles. But this points to an inherent tension--are we designing for a specific user, or users in general? If we are talking about a product where a person has a range of options or the ability to customize, I think that user centered design is the way to go. Or when it is a group of people for whom you have a clear insight about common usage patterns or abilities. However if we are talking about multi-use situations and public spaces or common areas, UD principles are undoubtedly something that should guide the process from the beginning.

All of this off course flows into what motivates people to actually innovate or design--maybe the best designs will always come from the individual desire to create something that solves a personal need or desire. But nothing in that is hurt by increasing an awareness that the best designs are at some level universally applicable.

Mama said they were magic shoes. They could take me anywhere.

Forrest Gump might not be quite the right image to toss out here, but the promise of Forrest’s Mama seems to be getting closer to reality. I’ve often said that technology will someday reduce the need to modify homes by helping people extend their abilities. Currently, for example, there are power chairs that stand and go upstairs. However they are cumbersome and according to one user I’ve met can be a bit frightening. The engineers at Honda keeps pushing this sort of technology forward and recently announced their prototype of robot legs. The legs are designed to be a “power assist” for people who are losing leg strength. For those of us old enough to remember, remember manual steering in a car? Think of this as power steering for your feet. It doesn’t change what we do, it just makes doing it easier and safer.

At first I wondered how you sit down, then I realized that you ARE sitting down. Technology like this might cause us to rethink a lot of things. While the prototype probably has a ways to go before it becomes practical for people who are infirm (how do you take the legs on and off?) this sort of technology has the promise of keeping people active and fitter longer. We tend to think of assistive devices as things for people who are already disabled. But as we boomers age, a large market will emerge in helping people prolong relatively normal activity. I met a man using a Segway for this purpose. Games to improve cognitive function are another example of this application of technology. Could robot arms to reach those things on the top shelf be next?

As Forrest said, “From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was running!”

http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/future-tech/honda-uses-asimo-robot-legs-to-help-the-infirm-325930