Design Tips To Soften Effects Of Alzheimer’s
If you talk to someone whose parent suffers from Alzheimer’s, they will tell you the disease changes life for everyone in the family. Alzheimer’s can create changes in a person’s independence and personality that are emotionally and financially devastating to loved ones.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive, degenerative disease that attacks the brain and results in increasingly impaired memory, thinking, reasoning, and behavior. It is the most common form of dementia, an umbrella term used to describe the loss of cognitive or intellectual function.
The single greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s is age. Although the disease can occur in younger people, even in their 30s and 40s, the risk significantly grows after age 65. It is estimated that 50% of those who pass their 80th birthday will be stricken. There are other risk factors besides age: family history of Alzheimer’s, stress, serious illness or injury, inadequate physical and social activity, poor diet, and perhaps even race.
Taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s can be overwhelming. Many people turn to assisted living or a nursing home as their best solution. Innovative design features are transforming dementia care. Outlined below are design items to consider when searching for a memory support community. In addition to asking about staffing, meals, and other operation issues, take a look at the building’s design and amenities.
- Glare, bright light, noise, clutter, and interactions between other people are some of the factors that need to be controlled.
- Contrasting colors between floors, walls, and ceilings to help discern where each starts and ends. Painted walls behind a toilet and/or a colored toilet seat help people find their target.
- Indoor and outdoor furniture should not tip over or have sharp edges.
- Doors equipped with two-way locks that cannot trap residents in a room.
- Visual cues like pictures on drawers and closets to remind residents of the contents. Or a toilet on the door to a public restroom.
- Lever handles for door and faucets so they are easier to operate.
- Walking and sitting areas with ample room to protect a person’s “private space” and prevent tripping.
- Decals on large glassed areas, such as doors or windows.
- Level floor surfaces. Flooring should have a pattern free of design, avoiding large dark areas that can appear to an Alzheimer’s resident as a hole they might fall into. Floor surfaces should have a dull finish, not a wet look that can be interpreted as dangerous to walk on.
- Interior designs need to be simple rather than busy. Some paisley designs might be interpreted as snakes. Busy patterns can cause confusion or anxiety.
- Courtyard landscaping that is free of thorny or poisonous items.
- Security measures to prevent a wanderer from exiting unnoticed thru a door, window, or fence.
- Life skills stations that contain familiar things for the residents to touch and do.
- Walls with tactile, three-dimensional artwork that can be touched.
- A snuggling room that provides a calm, soothing environment to reduces tension, anxiety, and hostility.
- Nightlights or motion sensitive lights that turn on if a resident gets up from bed during the night. A 24-hour low level light over the toilet.
- Open shelving and removable bathroom and closet doors in resident apartments to increase visual cueing. Conversely, some people do better with limited access and may require lockable closet doors.
- Inside and outside wandering paths with built-in areas of interest to occupy and entertain residents along the way. Comfortable places to sit and rest should be included along the pathway.
Joyce Clark is the CEO of Achievis Senior Living Associates. Achievis is a development and consultant company to a variety of long-term care providers. www.achievisseniorliving.com
Email: achievis@cox.net
Reader's Comments
Leave a Comment
Our Work
Howdy. I found the blog page the utilization of ask. That is certainly an incredibly well crafted report. We’re likely to take note of that and come back to master additional of the helpful details. Many thanks for the actual publish. I am going to undoubtedly go back.
This information is very valuable for those who have a family member in a community or for someone who is still living in a personal home. Thanks for sharing these important details to educate others on dementia issues!
[…] living who is suffering from this disease, we recommend this thorough and thoughtful list of Design Tips from from Archievis Senior Living Associates. These tips and design suggestions can help to make […]
Hi
I want to commend you on your style and helpful content. I would like to use a similar means of educating the community as well as industry clients. My efforts are primarily geared towards helping industry and the people who make the industry operate productively, avoid injuries through unique prevention and intervention methods. If you would like to know more, I would be happy to provide you with further information.
I just want to voice my appreciation for your community efforts in line with your business pursuits. One can’t exist without the other and it looks like they are both online.
Thank you sincerely
Roger
Being a care giver can be a big responsibility and taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s can be actually overwhelming. You need to be on your toes to help them but if you feel you cannot fulfill their requirements, opting for a memory care unit should be a good option.
Valuable information.
Your style and helpful content is commendable.
Using such means will help the industry grow and serve many more senior citizens efficiently.
Thank you for this post.
My brother suggested I might like this website.
He was totally right. This post truly made my day. You cann’t imagine simply
how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!
I visited many web pages but the audio feature for audio
songs current at this web site is really superb.
Feel free to visit my web blog: transmigrating
Hi, i read your blog from time to time and
i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot
of spam comments? If so how do you prevent it, any plugin or anything you can recommend?
I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so any help is very much appreciated.
Hello, just wanted to mention, I enjoyed this post.
It was inspiring. Keep on posting!
My blog post – Ulm Webdesign
Je n’ai guère funi ɗe lire par contre jе reviens cee soir
They are expensive, by dog training Jerome B. Training books are required however the U.
The new buzzword is positive reinforcement is defined as giving a dog is not as effective
as some are needed to send him a treat or other type of dog
collar, range of the procedure. This is the only solution to stop your dog
may be more sensitive to adopt a mutt. She has trained and they
want to help teach most dogs.
my webpage; bing.com (Reyna)
That is a good tip particularly to those new to the blogosphere. Short but very accurate information… Many thanks for sharing this one. A must read post!
Make sure you go; a list family guy the quest for stuff hack of
over 10, 000 users downloading the game. Playing game in the decade’s development history
of handheld gaming device in addition to these, there are user-friendly
websites that can be expected in the year of the company, that’s we recognized
this completely free. The good old-fashioned game of action-puzzle-physics genre.
The middle family guy the quest for stuff hack lets you clear
history.
Feel free to visit my web page family guy the quest for stuff cheats iphone
Piece of writing writing is also a fun, if you be acquainted with then you can write or else it is difficult to write.
Awesome issues here. I am very glad to peer your post.
Thank you so much and I am looking ahead to contact you.
Will you please drop me a e-mail?
Here is my blog post … Vilma U. Cumley
Generally I do not read article on blogs, however I wish to say that this write-up very pressured me to try and do it!
Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thank you,
quite nice post.
Programa de alongamento Naturpenis, é indicado para alongar e ampliar pênis, com
base nas técnicas populares Jelq do Dr. Richards.
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I really enjoyed reading it,
you will be a great author.I will make certain to bookmark your blog and will
eventually come back very soon. I want to encourage
yourself to continue your great work, have a nice day!
Ce sont des exercices de contractions le plus souvent isométriques
: on contracte sans créer de mouvement sur le visage, en mettant certains muscles en opposition, et
ceci dans les différentes parties du visage.
Maigrir de façon naturelle peut parfois s’avèrer compliqué et certaines personnes font le choix de suivre un régime Il existe une multitude de régime et il est nécessaire avant de se lancer de
savoir lequel est le mieux adapté pour votre métabolisme.
Mon conseil, commencer par une matière grasse, une poignée
d’amande, une cuillère à café d’huile de coco
ou de beurre d’amande/noisette/cajou etc.
Thus, the arts change frokm hard fissts to guiding and sliding palms and
turning and flowing whole body motions. He tries to bring a balanced curriculum to his students so they can have a certain degree of appreciation for the richness
of Taichi philosophy, in addition to its form. We will conntinuously update more information for you.
Greetings, I believe your blog might be haviing internet bbrowser compatibility problems.
Whenever I take a lok at your blogg in Safari, iit looks
fine however, if opening in Internet Explorer, it has soke overlapping issues.
I merely wanted to provide you wirh a quick heads up!
Apart from that, excellent site!
Here is myy blog – stickers
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this superb
blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding
your RSS feed to my Google account. I look
forward to fresh updates and will share this blog with my Facebook group.
Talk soon!
Howdy very cool web site!! Man .. Beautiful ..
Wonderful .. I’ll bookmark your website and take the feeds additionally?
I am happy to search out numerous helpful information right here within the submit, we’d like work
out more strategies on this regard, thank you for sharing.
. . . . .
Everything is very open with a very clear description of
the challenges. It was truly informative. Your website is useful.
Many thanks for sharing!
It’s imⲣreѕѕivᥱ that үou aгe getting thoughts from this piece of writing as well as from our dіalogue madᥱ at this
time.
Hello there, You’ve done an excellent job. I will certainly digg it and personally recommend to my
friends. I’m confident they will be benefited from this site.
Hello to every one, it’s actually a good for me to go to see this web page, it
consists of helpful Information.
After looking at a number of the blog articles on your site, I truly appreciate your technique of blogging.
I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking
back soon. Please check out my web site as well and let me know your opinion.
This is my first time go to see at here and i am truly impressed to read all at
single place.
Interesting articles around medicine and unlike stories
Engrossing articles about medication and different stories
Interesting articles to hand medication and distinct from stories
Fascinating articles -away analgesic and differing stories
Gripping articles to hand medication and assorted stories
Engrossing facts around this goods
Luring articles all over analgesic and unlike stories
Engrossing articles far pharmaceutical and assorted stories
Engrossing articles up analgesic and decidedly besides from stories
Seductive articles on all sides of hypnotic and in contrast with stories
Pretty articles about hypnotic and variant stories
Appealing articles erratically pharmaceutical and to date besides from stories
Charming articles to hand pharmaceutical and unconventional stories
Yoᥙ ɑctually make it appear so easy with your presentation however I
find this topic to be гealⅼy one thing which I feel I would never understand.
It kind of feels too complex and vеry wide fߋr me.
I am taking a look ahead to your subsequent submit, I will attempt to gеt the hang of
it!
Engrossing articles round pharmaceutical and assorted stories
Ηello to all, because I am in fact keen of reading this website’s post to ƅe updated regularly.
It includes pleasant infoгmation.
Engrossing articles on every side pharmaceutical and assorted stories