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Home Evolutions is dedicated to providing ideas and stories about how seniors and people with disabilities can age-in-place, comfortably, safely, and independently. On occasion, we like sharing stories that are both inspirational and related to the diverse audience we serve. Discussing American Profile’s recent article, Hear The Beat, by John Gladden, is one such story that we feel is the perfect way to conclude our 2009 Blog.

Since 2005, the Ohio State School for the Blind Marching Band in Columbus has been wowing crowds and providing a meaningful and uplifting activity for its 32 members who are visually challenged.

This unique marching band (also called the Marching Panthers) began with 13 members when the Ohio School for the Deaf (also in Columbus), revived its football program and invited the blind school’s music department to field a marching band. Since then, the band has more than doubled in size.

The group recently received notice that it would be among 22 bands to perform in the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade, and become the first blind marching ensemble in the event’s 121-year history!

“They are our inspiration,” said Stacy Houser, director of the parade’s music committee. “We would like to inspire musicians throughout the country, especially those with visual impairments, to realize that anything is possible.”

While the road to Pasadena has included obvious hurdles, the blind musicians have not let the challenges rattle them. “Instead, they have focused on musical and marching fundamentals,” said Dan Kelley, who co-directs the band with Carol Agler.

“I always have the kids focus on their abilities instead of their disability—how well you play the music, how well you march,” added Kelley who, like his students, is blind. “You don’t get recognition because you’re a musician who can’t see. There are a lot of musicians who can’t see—it’s how you work and what kind of team player you are.”

Each band member is paired with a volunteer sighted assistant. Agler drills assistants on the marching routines, while Kelley works with the musicians, who range in age from 13 to 23. When they come together, assistants serve as guides by placing a hand on the musician’s shoulder or inside loops on the back of the student’s uniform.

“It’s all by touch,” explained assistant, Valerie Herrington-Elhodiri, a music teacher at Huber Ridge Elementary School in Westerville, Ohio, who read about the band in a local newspaper and wanted to help. “The only time I’ll say anything is if in a parade there’s a bump in the road, or a hill coming up, or something like that. Then I’ll whisper that to them.”

Since most of the students have never seen marching, even their steps must be guided—sometimes to the point of picking up a musician’s foot and moving it, just to help the student get the feel.

From sousaphone player, Chris Harrington’s viewpoint, training and performing with the Marching Panthers isn’t that different from the approach of other marching bands. “A lot of people think because we are blind that it isn’t possible, or that it must be a lot harder than for a sighted person to march. But once you get your form down, the marching part just comes.”

Kelley acknowledges the challenges of marching blind. “Sometimes someone’s step can be a little bigger than the person in front or behind them. That’s where you get into trouble.” He continued, “Marching assistants work as a safety net and as guides on the field. But they’re not just helping the kids; they’re part of the show.” The assistants include all age groups—teenagers, college students, and grandparents from many different backgrounds including teachers, insurance agents, and retired band directors.

Right now, the Marching Panthers are traveling to Pasadena, California, where America’s only blind marching band will perform on New Year’s Day in the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade. When finally stepping onto Orange Grove Boulevard, the 32-member group will not only become the parade’s first blind marching band, but also its smallest band in more than a century!

For Harrington, marching before a worldwide television audience of millions is both a privilege and a responsibility. While other bands represent their schools, his marches for people with visual impairments everywhere. “I just want to prove to other people that just because we’re blind, it doesn’t mean there’s anything else wrong with us.”

Home Evolutions would like to wish you and your loved ones a safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year! See you in 2010…

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.

So what will 2010 bring in terms of Aging-in-Place? Laurie Orlov, founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch, recently listed her top ten aging-in-place trends for 2010 that we’d like to share with you.

1.    Location-aware tech enables more info, greater safety. GPS became even more useful in 2009. Verizon replaced its Chaperone service with Family Locator, The Alzheimer’s Association introduced its ComfortZone (powered by OmniLink), several other tracking technology vendors launched.

2.    Home automation technology vendors see possibilities. Just as home remodelers see possibilities in aging-in-place retrofits (70% of NAHB builders in 2009), in a bad economy, home automation vendors also saw possibilities in the market.

3.    Mobile health app possibilities grow. Mobile web usage during 2009 got a growth spurt from boomers and seniors — and spawned new apps like LiveNurse from Jitterbug. According to Gartner, mobile health applications (along with location-based apps) are in the top 10 application growth areas for consumers.

4.    Virtual doctors’ visits and other health innovations. Orlov says that a quiet revolution is happening in health care delivery, from shared doctor visits, the video doctor ‘virtual visit’, and health care without the doctor — tracking and transmission of self-test results — like blood coagulation levels.

5.    Touch screens and eReaders. Touch screens became ubiquitous during 2009 for product demonstration computers used to demo software — like the Asus EEE, for example. And eReaders – particularly well-suited to the boomer/senior population saw the impressive Sony with touch screen as alternative to the Kindle.

6.    Big companies invest in monitoring and telehealth technologies. GE acquisition of QuietCare, Intel and its $250 million partnership with GE, and Bosch (VitelNet), all added to Philips as big firms intent on roles in the aging/health monitoring arena — limited impact in 2009, but validation of market importance in 2010.

7.    Broadband access and Internet use among seniors grows. According to Forrester’s research, 63% of 64-73-year-olds are online at least monthly. And Nielsen noted that 6 million more seniors are online today than five years ago — most likely because their broadband adoption has grown from 19% to 30% in the past year.

8.    Caregiver portals and tools blossom. 2009 saw the merger of Caring.com and Gilbert Guide, forging the market’s first million-views-per-month usage profile.

9.    Personal emergency response systems get a makeover. In 2009, we saw the emergence of Halo Monitoring’s fall detection chest strap and belt clip, mobile PERS entrant, Medical Mobile Monitoring, and then reflect on Jitterbug’s acquisition in the Mobile PERS arena.

10.    VCs show interest in aging in place technology. During 2009, there were several VC investments in the aging in place tech arena, including a $7.5 million investment in WellAWARE Systems from Valhalla Partners and .406 Ventures; Menlo Ventures made an investment in Wellcore; Shasta Ventures invested $10 million in Caring.com; Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Kleiner Perkins, and Physic Ventures are all examining the health, boomer markets.

Read more at Aging in Place Technology Watch.

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.

With Christmas less than two weeks away, you may still be looking for that perfect gift to give your loved ones who are aging-in-place. Parentgiving.com suggests some great holiday gift ideas for seniors that focus on increasing their health and well-being. These gifts can help seniors stay active, sharp, safe, interested, and vital.

Chief content officer of the website, Julie Davis, explained that when it comes to picking the perfect presents for older loved ones, what truly makes the best gifts for seniors are those that enable them to maintain a great quality of life, stay engaged in things they love to do, and live as independently as possible.

“Recent research studies have pointed to very specific advice for maintaining senior health—including physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Our recommendations take into account findings that range from the need to maintain muscle mass in order to stay healthy, to the need to stay socially engaged in order to prevent isolation and possible depression.”

Parentgiving.com’s gift ideas not only help to enable aging-in-place and improve quality of life, but they can also be inexpensive. In fact, many of its gift ideas start as low as $12.00. These great gifts for seniors can be broken down into the following categories:

Think Fitness First—Gifts For Staying Active

Among the lifestyle behaviors that have negative effects, being sedentary is near the top of the list. Exercise maintains muscle, and muscle enables the body to maintain a level of fitness that helps seniors resist illness, stay independent, and prevent falls. Exercise should be fun and tailored to each individual’s level. Parentgiving.com’s gift ideas for this include the Nintendo Wii and sessions with physical therapists that have expertise in geriatrics.

Maintain The Brain—Gifts For Staying Sharp

Ongoing studies are researching exactly how to keep the brain sharp in order to delay or even prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Exercising the mind can be as high-tech as playing video games or brain training programs, to being as low-tech as playing Scrabble and doing crossword puzzles every day. Many of these activities have benefits that range from improving memory to visual acuity—not to mention that they’re just plain fun and keep people engaged. Specific brain fitness software involves interactive game-like training programs that challenge the mind and attempt to boost memory as well as analytical thinking. Related Parentgiving.com gift ideas include brain training software like PositScience’s DriveSharp and the Dakim BrainFitness System.

Get Smart About Safety—Gifts For Staying Safe

For many seniors, high-tech developments in telecare are allowing those who need care and attention to age-in-place. Now they can stay in their homes under the watchful eyes of electronic monitoring and communication devices via computers, video cameras, the internet, and land or wireless telephone signals. Advances in tracking devices for wanderers, online recordkeeping, and medical reminder systems are other high-tech ways of keeping seniors safe. Other Parentgiving.com gift ideas include EmFinders EmSeeQ monitoring wrist device and the A Very Special Heart charm with USB data storage.

See Clearly—Gifts For Staying Interested

Normal vision changes occur as we age. Even natural changes unrelated to conditions like glaucoma and macular degeneration can make close-up reading difficult. But the ability to read is an important part of maintaining a high quality of life—so is being able to do other hand-held activities like knitting and writing. Tools and gadgets that make it easier to stay interested in these activities are among the best holiday gifts for seniors. Such Parentgiving.com gift ideas include a lighted magnifier, a table-top newspaper stand, and a bean-bag lap desk.

Emphasize Everyday Ease—Staying Vital and Connected

Independence comes in many forms, but doctors often judge it by the ability to carry out daily living activities. These include simply taking care of oneself and one’s basic needs—getting dressed, eating properly, and moving about with relative ease. Aids and gadgets that facilitate these everyday actions make a big difference in quality of life and the ability to age at home. New devices that enable seniors to stay connected to loved ones without necessarily having to be computer savvy can also add to quality of life. Parentgiving.com gift ideas include the Pathlighter Lighted Walking Cane and POURfect kitchen tools, which are perfect for anyone with limited dexterity.

You can read the full description of each holiday gift on Parentgiving.com.

Home Evolutions would like to wish you and your loved ones much happiness during this holiday season—and many, many years of being together as you age-in-place!

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.

We came across this interesting story the other day about Harvey Noordsy from Glen Falls, NY.

This 78-year-old retired mental health counselor and two dozen other like-minded seniors have formed “Aging in Place,” a mutual service exchange that empowers senior citizens to remain in their own homes for as long as they can.

“A lot of people don’t know we even exist as yet,” says Noordsy, the group’s president.

Using a time bank system, a member of Aging in Place can call another member to help with tasks such as transportation to and from a grocery store or a doctor’s appointment, minor home repairs, or food preparation. The person receiving the service then repays the time bank by offering to help another member.

The cost is very minimal… new members can join for only $12 annually. All they need to do is fill out an application and state three or four services they need and what they can provide to others. Information is then distributed via computer or mail.

According to the article, the group provides an available list of people and the services they offer, and they arrange a match to your needs.

The group was created after Noordsy and his wife, Betty, moved to a local retirement community after Betty had a medical emergency and lost her central vision.  The author of the article writes that after she adapted to the vision problem, the couple realized they didn’t want to have so much of their money tied up in retirement living, so they moved back to a smaller house.

Noordsy is quoted as saying, “There were a lot of good things about being in the (retirement) community - there was transportation, group activities. We said, ‘If we were now in our own home, how could we do some of those things for those of us who are scattered in homes around the community rather than in one establishment?’”

After reading about a concept started in Beacon Hill, a wealthy section of Boston, in which neighbors wanted to remain in their neighborhood for as long as they could, they thought they could organize something similar.

In addition to the organization being a help exchange, Aging in Place wants to be a resource to members to find out more about area social programs or needed services in the community that go beyond the realm of what the organization can provide.

Aging in Place includes members in Glens Falls, Queensbury and South Glens Falls, but Noordsy said chapters can be set up in other local communities if at least six people join in a given area.

For more information about Aging in Place or to start up your own chapter, visit www.aginginplaceglensfalls.org.

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.

In a recent article by U.S. News & World Report, the author discusses attractive design solutions for aging-in-place projects.

“Making such modifications not only helps current occupants but may broaden the market for future buyers when the home is placed on the market,” he writes.

Illustrating this trend, about 3,000 home remodeling and repair contractors have taken the three-day Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists (CAPS) training course.

Therese Ford Crahan, executive director of National Association of Home Builder’s (NAHB) Remodelers Council, describes the sensitivity training that contractors must take as part of the program. “The remodelers are required to put a tennis ball in their non-writing hand, put that hand in a sock, and then try and write a check,” she says, simulating challenges that many people with arthritis face.

“Next, we put them in a wheelchair and they have to maneuver around and then, we put sunglasses on them and cover the lenses with Vaseline and then make them try to get around. It’s just an eye-opener for remodelers,” she says. “They just don’t understand until they’ve been there.”

According to Cynthia Leibrock, an expert on aging who has turned her Colorado home into a showplace of aging-in-place modifications, if you “really want to stay in your home, you’ve got to get serious about it.”

Leibrock says that emphasizing the positive aspects of such changes, particularly added safety and comfort, helps overcome resistance. Kitchens and bathrooms are ground zero for many aging-in-place home improvements.

She breaks down improvements into groups, beginning with those that can be done easily and quickly and moving on to more expensive and time-consuming projects that are best done as part of more extensive remodeling efforts:

Do it now:

1. Tape down rugs.
2. Add handrails with extensions to both sides of the stairs.
3. Add grab bars to your shower.
4. Reorganize your kitchen around the tasks you perform.
5. Add offset pivot hinges to narrow doors.
6. Replace your shower head with a hand-held shower on a vertical grab bar.
7. Do an energy audit. (We generally need higher ambient temperatures as we age.)
8. Add task lighting to improve visual acuity.
9. Be proactive about your health—reorganize your house to encourage you to make it fun to exercise and to cook healthy meals. Try steam cooking; a portable steamer costs less than $100. Keep your house cleaner with a place to remove shoes upon entering.
10. Remodel the inside of your cabinets. Add pop-up shelves, lazy susans, pull-out racks, and lighter colors, for example.
11. Add warning systems: Smoke detectors, CO2 detectors, and driveway alerts.
12. Replace difficult controls with door levers and cabinet “C” grips, not knobs; use pressure switches, touch controls, and rocker switches on lamps. To test what works, try to use all controls with a closed fist. Then try to use all of them with one hand.
13. Replace your cookware for safety. Look for stay-cool handles and nondrip edges, for example.
14. You may need a new phone. If you have trouble hearing on your phone, replace it with one that amplifies high frequencies, not one that just increases the volume. If you frequently dial wrong numbers, find a phone with a large, lighted touchpad.
15. Use your house to reduce stress. Add a small fountain that produces the relaxing sound of running water. Keep relaxing music playing at all times. Add speakers which don’t require wiring.
16. Buy a comfortable chair that is easy to access and exit, with arms well forward and space to put your feet back so you can lean forward and push off.
17. Increase your security. Add deadbolts to all doors. Block sliding-glass doors when not in use. Consider the many options in security systems.

Do it later: adaptable solutions
1. Install the wall reinforcements, not the grab bars.
2. Install the track and wiring, not the $10,000 stair lift.
3. Add that study or den now and use it later for a live-in caregiver.
4. Install wiring for an automatic door opener in a tight hallway, and add the opener later.
5. Wall-mount cabinets so they can be lowered or raised later.
6. If the laundry is downstairs, wire and vent a closet on an upper floor so you can add a small washer-dryer at a later date.
7. Stack closets on multiple floors to form a shaft for an elevator at a future time.

Do it as you remodel
1. If you are putting in a wood floor, recess that area rug.
2. Use a nonslip finish on the wood floor.
3. Use a drop-down door bottom instead of a threshold (which is a tripping hazard).
4. Plan 4-foot hallways, 5-foot turnaround spaces in each room, and clear floor space for walkers, wheelchairs, strollers, and scooters. Use anthropometric measures to evaluate the route by walking through your house with elbows out to a 3-foot width.
5. Add more windows and skylights with low-E thermal glass. This will increase ambient light levels. We may need a fivefold increase in ambient light as we age.
6. Replace your cooktop with a safe and fast induction model.
7. Build a seat into your shower.
8. Replace your oven with a safe, side-hinged model. Add a pull-out shelf below.
9. Replace your washer and dryer with elevated, front-opening models.