Universal Design

“Pat Rowen, ASID, CAPS, has a picture in her office that shows a baby crawling, a little boy playing, a teenager on crutches, a businessman with groceries, an elderly person in a walker and a person in a wheelchair. It reminds her to think of all the stages of life.” -Jenny S. Rebholz

Universal Design is a way of applying design principles for all types of people despite their age, size, ability/disability, health, etc. in any stage of their life.

Ways to incorporate Universal Design:

Kitchen

· The dishwasher can be raised off the floor to keep from having to bend down

· Range controls are positioned at the front for ease of access

· Microwave placed under the counter or at eye-level for easy access

· Easy to open cabinet hardware

· Roll-out shelves

· Handle Faucet

Bathroom

· Lever style doors and faucets as opposed to knobs

· Comfort height toilet

· Grab bars (next to toilet, tub and shower)

· Slide-on toilet paper dispenser

· Hand-held shower

· Shower seat

· No- threshold shower

Other Spaces

· Front load washer and dryer with automatic shut-off controls

· Increased lighting and ventilation

· Mechanical door closures throughout the house

Whether most people want to admit it or not, everyone goes through the same stages in life. At some point, each one of us will be in the elderly stage. It is sometimes difficult for people to imagine themselves that way and even more difficult to convince them that planning for the future is the best thing to do.

I know what many of you are thinking. Why do we need to change everything right now? Why can we not wait till that day comes when we actually need the changes to be done?

But that is exactly my point. Why would you wait until the time that you need it when chances are you will have difficulty functioning well in your own house up until all of these changes are met. It may take a lot longer than you think to make these changes, however, if you would have changed them back then, you would be able to function just as you did ten or twenty years ago.

Who Knows! You may not even be able to notice that you are aging by how easily you function in your everyday life. Which will make you feel YOUNGER!

Someone very wise once told me, If you tell yourself you are, for example, going to succeed, than you will but if you doubt yourself and expect to fail, than you will.

Although this is a little bit of a different situation, I still think it very much relates to it.

If you feel as though you are just as young as you were ten years ago and you tell yourself you are, then so be it. You will feel young because you tell yourself you are young.

References provided by:

ASID

Jenny S. Rebholz, Allied member ASID

More information regarding Universal Design can be found at:

http://www.asid.org/NR/rdonlyres/FB89A310-877E-438A-BD1A-864A7D7B6BA4/0/IndustryPartnerDirectoryUniversalDesignArticle.pdf