By Marian M. Inguanzo, MSW, ACSW
and
Mitchell A. Kaplan PhD, CPSP
As the Baby Boomer generation continues to age,
many are learning that the simple everyday
activities they once took for granted, such as
getting into their own bathrooms, have become
more challenging now that they have a mobility
impairment that limits their ability to move
about their home without assistance. According
to national statistics from federally funded
studies, there are an estimated 54 million
Americans living with physical and mental
disabilities in the United States today. This
number is expected to increase to 70 million by
the year 2030 as aging Baby Boomers enter their
senior years and begin to experience increasing
disabilities that may require them to leave
their homes and seek alternative living
arrangements, such as a retirement community,
assisted living facility or a nursing home. In a
public statement last summer, James E. Williams
Jr., president and chief executive officer of
the Easter Seals Society, called for action to
create more accessible public living facilities
for older individuals with disabilities.
As
increasing numbers of American adults age, more
and more of them want to remain independent at
home for as long as possible rather than be
forced into a nursing home due to the
acquisition of a physical impairment. Data from
a recent AARP survey found that 84 percent of
the organization’s membership reported that they
wished to remain in their current residence for
as long as they could despite the fact that in
87 percent of the cases their current homes
could no longer support their changing
accessibility needs.This year marks the 15th
anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities
Act, a major piece of civil rights legislation
that provides for greater social and economic
participation of individuals with disabilities
in every facet of American life through the
implementation of improved public accessibility
rights to employment, housing, public facilities
and education. The act acknowledges the basic
right of all disabled individuals, no matter
what their age or impairment, to become fully
participating members of our society through
reasonable accommodation that limits or removes
physical, social, and economic barriers that
impede this participation in the institutions
and activities of daily life that other
Americans without disabilities take part in so
freely. Since many American construction
companies remain resistive to building new
housing facilities that are completely
disability friendly in terms of their
accessibility, it is up to us as aging
individuals with disabilities to band together
to encourage builders to create more accessible
housing for those of us who need it so that we
can remain independent as we age in place.
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