EDSE 610
Designing Environments
George Mason University
Spring 2005
EDSE 610
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This course was an exciting culmination of the Assistive Technology Certificate Program. One of the most memorable activities was to a "Smart house" in Maryland. We were taken on a tour by the occupant who was a middle aged man who was affected with quadriplegia. He had the house designed to enable him to live independently. Every room had computer controls that were connected to a laptop on his wheelchair with a wireless system. The lighting, temperature, doors, and even table height could be adjusted with the touch of a switch! The cabinets in the kitchen could come down to wheelchair level with the touch of a button. He could see the entire surrounding yard, entrances and rooms with mounted video cameras. We were in awe as he explained how he could do everything in the house independently except dress and bathe himself! We emerged from that trip with a whole new perspective of people with disabilities, ingenuity, and available technology!
After spending 2 semesters learning about many aspects of how Assistive Technology improves the lives of people with special needs, we incorporated that knowledge in the design of a home for a group of elderly Jewish women with a variety of disabilities. My group was given the charge of providing the ladies with an accessible yard and recreational opportunities.
Some of our ideas included wheelchair accessible entrances, a garden with raised beds, a heated pool with an artificial current for exercise and therapy, and a deck with a special area to build a temporary structure for a religious holiday.
The research on the Internet provided an incredible array of possibilities in the areas of recreation. A visit to several facilities also added more ideas. The raised bed garden was an idea from one of visits to a local nursing home. They had a garden with slender rows of raised flower and vegetable beds that the residents could access in wheel chairs. Gardening is a soothing pastime that many elderly people enjoy. It is often abandoned because of the bending required to work with the plants. This adaptation makes the recreational pastime available to all!
The pool suggested was a space saving pool that could provide warm water therapy and exercise opportunities for the women. It had many accessible features that could add enjoyment and vital therapy opportunities!
Seeing pictures of the actual house built using our ideas is incredible! It gives a sense that in this field of Assistive Technology we can make a world of difference for people who have had a life time of difficulties to overcome!
