Universal Design: Geriatric Planning

I don’t really do something that we are all supposed to do: I don’t have a fire emergency plan for my home – not really.

I live in an attached-house part of town and know my neighbors, as do my kids. There’s a lots of people just a few doors up and down my block. A fire happens and we’ll be out front checking on each other – that’s the way it’s happened when there were other fires.

We also are loaded up with cell phones. I have plenty of smoke detectors and a few fire extinguishers. We all know the way out of the house and there are two exits to most parts of the house, even the basement. I’m attentive to these emergency plans but also winging it. I’ve thought things through but I’m also stumbling along. I have a lot of trust that things won’t go wrong. We’re all able bodied. If a school teacher were to grade me, I’d be a C+.

I should have a thorough assessment. I should have a plan. I should review it annually. I should do fire drills. I should share it with my neighbors. I should be at least an A-.

That’s fire. What about getting older? Same thing, but I’m not as prepared. Right now, I might be thinking about having enough cash and a suitable environment so that I can be mostly independent. Like the fire plan, I am basically in good shape – but not really on top of it. My geriatric plan is barely a passing grade.

What about 10-20 or 30 years down the road? I should begin to have a geriatric plan – at least a rough draft. What about nutrition? Medication? Household needs like laundry, shopping & cooking? Hygiene? What happens if my memory fades? Who is in charge of my legal matters? Paying the bills on time? Overlooking my driving ability? Who will help me get to my appointments or advocate for my well-being? Who will help me adapt my home to current needs? How will I stay social?

Like the fire emergency plan, the geriatric plan is a prudent endeavor. It’s pennies now instead of dollars later; it’s hours now instead of days or months later. It’s being ready or just hoping.

I’ll do both – the fire and the geriatric plan. The fire plan will go quick –sit down with the whole family, map it out, run a drill and correct any shortcomings. The geriatric plan won’t take that long either. What there is to do right now is have a financial plan: look at future needs and plan how to have enough.

"Old age is like everything else; to make a success of it, you’ve got to start young."
Fred Astaire




Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
June 25, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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Universal Design: Living Large in the 70’s

See it in video: Living Large in the 70's

Ahh, the 70’s. Muhammad Ali, Mark Spitz, Vietnam, China and Watergate. What about Star Wars, disco, Atari and video cassettes? How about the New York City blackout, Son of Sam and Guardian Angels? A pretty amazing decade, but, I’m not talking about those 70’s. I’m talking about you and your seventies!

Becoming seventy is far away, maybe 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years off. When it comes, I’m sure you want to be living a great life. There are a few essential ingredients required for that decade to be great; one of them is your independence.

What will give you your independence in your seventies is not what gives you your independence today. The environment you live in will need to be different; you will have to ready it for your arrival. The good news is that there is nothing to invent and no mystery to solve – it’s already invented and solved. To prepare your environment for ongoing independence you need two words: universal design.

What is universal design? It is an approach to designing products and environments that doesn’t discriminate on the basis of age or ability. It means that a home, for example, can function equally well for a child, an adult, an elder or a person with a physical limitation either temporary or permanent. Right now, we don’t build homes that way; we build homes for one type of person, an able-bodied adult.

Universal design unlocks the gate to living large in your seventies (and many other decades of living) but it doesn’t overcome another rather large obstacle, your fear of aging. Ask me about my seventies and I get squirmy and try to change the subject. I don’t want to think about it. When I do, I don’t have positive associations. I think of slowing down, weakening strength and failing body parts. Shudder! Planning for my seventies? Mañana!

Unfortunately, mañana isn’t a winning formula. Without planning, I’ll stumble into my seventies. I’ll have fewer options. I’ll be trying to stay afloat rather than living large. The question that emerges is, how can I get excited about taking actions today that won’t seem to matter for years?

There’s a trick.

Start by remembering an adventuresome vacation you took. There you were, time off from work, where to go? You did your research, talked to friends and voila, Costa Rica would be your destination! Step two was to hone the plans: what hotel, what flight, what activities, etc. Finally you put your money down and booked the trip. Excitement bubbled within; you were going to Costa Rica! Did you walk into work the next day all ho-hum? No, you couldn’t wait to tell friends and co-workers about your forthcoming trip! After work, did you just head home? No, you hit the stores and bought snorkeling gear, a fishing rod and some suntan lotion. Hardly a day passed without some excitement and preparation for the trip.

It’s the same for your seventies. The only thing that’s different is the destination. Much like the vacation, there is a chunk of time in your future that’s open and can be planned as you see fit. Begin by imagining what you want it to look like. This is an important step. As you imagine your seventies, be unreasonable. Let nothing hold your imagination back. Be vivid. Be unbridled in your creativity. If you have an idea and it doesn’t excite you or put a smile on your face, cross it off and imagine something else. Keep going until becoming seventy couldn’t happen soon enough.

Good questions to ask yourself during this stage are: Who am I? Am I rich in wealth? Am I rich in spirit? Am I rich in love? Do I live in a warm climate or a cold? City or country? A big community or a small one? Near family or far away?

As this picture of yourself in your seventies emerges, map it out. Write it in a journal, collage it or make a scrapbook of ideas. With a clear picture of your seventies that makes you excited, we now need to work toward the present – is there an action you could take today? Steps toward the present will be large at first and as we get closer to the present, will become smaller. The end of this journey will be the present, and, in this present, you will be clear on an action to take that will bring you toward living large in your seventies.

Let me walk you through it using myself as an example. Don’t ask me why, I’m a New Yorker, but, I have a thing for Montana. I want to be in Montana for my seventies. I’ll have an apartment in New York and will visit frequently. I’m still married to my wife and we have a joyous vibe that attracts lots of visitors. The house is on the North Fork in the Bitterroot – lots of trout. I have a big porch that faces west, and, I can drive from the land onto the porch and into the house with my rugged ATV-ish scooter. For some reason, that picture of seventy excites me.

Working toward the present, at age sixty, I got to have things pretty set up so that ten years out I’m living this dream. I’ll be familiar with Montana having visited for long periods. I’ll be members in local clubs and have my first few friends. I’ll know where I want to live and be ready financially to purchase land and a home.

Jumping toward the present another ten years, what do I got to have at fifty so that that vision at sixty is ready? I need to be building equity, I’ll begin visiting Montana regularly, I’ll be in my peak earning years and kids will be all educated freeing up additional capital to set aside.

I’ll jump again toward the present but in a shorter time jump, five years. At 45, what do I got so that the vision at 50 is ready? I’m building my value at work, I’m owning or buying some of that equity that’s gonna grow and I’m raising a family. What about one year from now? I’m finishing my research on being seventy in Montana. How about three months from now? I’m in the middle of my visioning and research. And how about right now? Right now, I’m beginning my research. Right now, I’m Googling universal design and thinking about being seventy in a whole new way.

If at the beginning, I asked you, “What are you doing today so that being seventy is gonna be great?” You might have squirmed, said you had an IRA and changed the subject. Instead, you have a new answer, Google universal design resource and start forming an idea of what you’ll need to keep the independence you love.

Wow. Living large in the seventies is possible. When you get there, it will be ready for you. Your independence will be as present as it is today. Opportunities won’t diminish, they’ll continue. Sure, it will all look different. But best of all, you’ll still get to be you.


Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
June 12, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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Universal Design: Are Home Improvements UD?

An blog was written, The Best Return on Home Improvements. “Oooo!” I emphatically exclaimed, anxious to read about maximizing the value of my home. If you notice, I was hooked by an opportune distraction from my work. As I read the top 10 tips, I felt as if I was reading about universal design. Clean it up. Get rid of the clutter and the old and worn. Increase light. Fix broken things. Patch floors and walls. In brief, have it work and have it look nice. That’s a great starting point. Your home will become a pleasure, not an inconvenience. Your life will improve.

Eager for another top 10, I found, 2008 Cost vs. Value Report: Still Many Happy Returns for Home Rehabs. I saw improvements that favored low-maintenance, natural light and updated functionality.

Finally, I looks at shelter mags and what do I see? All the contemporary styling is open, wide, spacious and filled with light. Humm. Maybe we’re more universal design than we realize.

PS: A video clip about planning your own 70's:
"Living Large In The 70's"



Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
June 12, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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Universal Design: New Baby vs. New Elder

A bit of a rant today:

It’s getting to be years ago that I was looking at bookshelves filled with books on having a baby, bringing a baby home, what to do with a baby when it’s home, what to expect next; what it’s expressing and when, how-to this and that. Then the parents, and what they are going through and how they can handle it. I still see that bookshelf at bookstores, how could I not? It’s one of the bigger shelves in the store.

But I go now in search of a different book. It’s the one on bringing an elder into my world, not a baby. Forget finding it on a bookshelf. I have to go to Amazon. Why? There are so few books written on this topic. If I help a parent move closer to me or maybe into my home, there’s no psychologist there to hold my hand and guide me along the way. There’s no medical book like the pediatric ones that tell you no honey until age 1. There’s no book telling me how to make my parent’s new home “elder-safe.” There’s no info on how to prepare for the transition and how to make the move itself.

The beginning of life has as many concerns and hurdles as does the end of life. One just seems to us as a bit more optimistic and less fearful. This is a call out to authors and professionals to start writing these books. The market will be there when your book arrives. Occupational therapists – you know the whole world of concerns of what ailment needs what environment to have a person comfortable and successful in their daily routines. Psychologists – tell me how I’m going to decompress when things get rough; how can I love my parent when it gets hard? Builders – tell me what I need to have in their new home. And doctors – tell me how to find a new range of specialists in the new neighborhood; tell me how to have a smooth transition from one practitioner to another.

For you authors who take this on: one of you will write “the” book on this topic. One of you will be on Larry King. One of you will make this bringing of an elder into our lives something we can do without all the fumbling. I look forward to your success.

PS: A video clip about planning your own 70's:
"Living Large In The 70's"



Konrad Kaletsch, CAPS
June 5, 2009
Universal Design Resource
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