Home Is Where The Heart Is

    In the podcast Glass Half Full, Natalie and Jess are joined by an occupational therapist, Sabrena McCarley and founders of the Living in Place Institute, Louie Delaware and Erik Listou to discuss the role of OT in helping older adults age in place through safe home modifications and adaptive equipement. 

   Louie Delaware and Erik Listou founded the Living in Place Institute to help create interdisciplinary teams to make the best possible recommendations for modifications in all homes. The term "living in place" takes the focus away from aging, as it strives to find ways to enable people of all ages and disabilities to live their best lives without having to move into a senior living community. It relies on the professional community to accept and take the responsibility for helping all clients regardless of their age or condition. This idea utilizes universal design principles to implement home modification that provide utility, safety, comfort, and style for individuals entering this stage of life. 

    Even though many individuals are moving into senior care facilities and rehabilitation communities, the majority would really rather stay in their own homes. The reason being, most facilities are not really accessible friendly, as they lack many of the components to live an independent life. This resonated with me SO much, because both of my grandparents absolutely refuse to be moved to care facility and actually have made home modifications to both their homes in order to be able to stay there as long as possible. Their home modifications enabled them to do just that by installing grab bars, curve-less zero entry showers, and purchasing assistive technology (hello alexa!) that are unique and personable to their needs. The OT and related professionals suggested things that are not only functionally appropriate, but also aesthetically pleasing to them. This allowed my grandparents to feel like their home is still their home and not an ugly care facility. As we know, most clients are resistant to change (like my grandparents for example lol), therefore the best approach when it came to recommending these modifications to them was to use more inclusive language, so they believed that these modifications would not only help them, but also help others.

When talking about home modification and assessment, Sabrena McCarley stated that it is imperative to stress that this is not something occupational therapists can do alone, it takes a group of professionals. Therefore, occupational therapists need to get out of their medical comfort zone and embrace the other versions of interdisciplinary teams to help individuals live in place longer. Home inspectors, builders, and interior designers are just some of the professionals occupational therapist will have to work with to make these modifications. National associations can also be involved in this team such as the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and the National Kitchen and Bath Association. The occupational therapist can work with these professionals to prioritize what it is the individual needs to be able to do, what the current barriers the individual is facing, and what modifications can be done so that the client can be safer longer in that environment.  

This podcast really spiked my interest for future professional development, because my passion is to one day work in the geriatric setting. If you are interested in this line of specialization for the geriatric population, take specialized training classes to become a certified living in place specialist. I definitely will!  

Here is the link to the podcast if you are interested in learning more: https://glasshalffullot.com/podcast/home-modification/