Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Senior's needs? (was Achieving age diversity)

[Andrew Netherton (andrewnetherton]

Thank you all for your feedback.  There's a lot to chew on there, and
some good insights I hadn't heard before.  I will try to reign in my
parenting side a bit, now that I know some of the story from the other
end of the age spectrum.

I can figure out how to accommodate for limited mobility, and can at
least understand how to deal with hearing loss, but how does one
accommodate for the memory-impaired?  Or is it sufficient to
understand that memory impairment is an issue for some senior
residents, and that whomever we select to design our home will need to
address that?  I'm curious as to how such solutions manifest
themselves.

Thanks again, everyone.  Please keep on sharing!

Regards,
Andrew Netherton
Laurel Creek Commons (forming)
Waterloo, ON, Canada


On 11/12/06, Jan <jan [at] sunward.org> wrote:
> Children have their parents, who are usually very interested and vocal
> advocates.  In most instances, older members must be their own advocates.
> Being an advocate for oneself can feel and seem selfish.  The hearing
> impaired (we have at least one) and the memory-impaired (we have two members
> with Alzheimer's disease) have a hard time speaking on their own behalf.  As
> a consequence, they are usually silent--or absent from meetings.  On the
> other hand, being an advocate "for the sake of the children" can seem
> altruistic.  This situation could be one of the reasons kids' needs trump
> elders' needs.
>
> Jan
>
>
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