Do You Have a "Livable" Home?

Assessing Your Home for Livability

If you would like a complete assessment of your home for livability, enlist the help of an occupational therapist and/or a Certified Aging In Place Specialist (CAPS).

Occupational therapists, or OTs, assess the fit between individuals and their environment. An OT can  identify ways you can modify your home to help compensate for any difficulty or disability you have.

During an OT assessment you may be asked what you do each day and what your goals are for the future. For instance, an OT might ask some of the following questions:

• Are you a gourmet cook? Or are you looking to simplify your cooking activities?
• Do you spend more time outdoors in your yard or inside in your basement recreation room?
• Do you need home office space? Or, do wish you had a playroom for the grandchildren?
• Are you avoiding activities that you used to do because they're difficult or you're worried about safety?
  

Occupational therapists are also concerned about how health conditions can impact your ability to participate in activities. Because of that, an OT might ask:

• Does arthritis make certain activities painful or difficult for you?
• Have limitations in vision forced you to give up or curtail certain detail work?
• Are you experiencing balance issues or shortness of breath when climbing stairs?

Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists (CAPS) have been trained to meet the housing needs of the 50+ population. CAPS can identify and/or make home modifications or changes to help people live independently in their homes at later ages, and can find solutions to common obstacles that make houses unsafe or uncomfortable.

You may be asked to perform certain tasks in order to determine the nature of the difficulty you're experiencing. From the information gathered, the professional will make recommendations about how you can adapt your environment so you can safely, comfortably and successfully do the things you want to do in and around your home. They might recommend that you:

• Add grab bars, a handheld shower and a tub bench in order to increase safety in bathing.
  
• Create raised flowerbeds for better access when gardening.
  
• Install more task lighting in the kitchen so you can more easily read a recipe and see what you're cooking.

See also: With universal design, one size fits all. >>