This is the first time Alzheimer’s is being discussed at Design Construction Week in Vegas, where more than 110,000 designers and construction professionals gather annually.
I’m humbled and grateful for the opportunity to share ‘The Design Prescription: Designing for Alzheimer’s’ at Design Construction Week, which includes the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show and the International Builders Show in Vegas.
While this mission to create a Design Prescription started as my curiosity about my dad’s care at a memory facility for his Alzheimer’s, it has grown beyond just my dad.
My dad, who worked from an early age to help his widowed mother make ends meet for his other siblings, is 81 years old. He had a pony instead of a car when he was a kid. His mission was to create a secure and safe life for his family. He’s achieved that in spades. And he is already in a memory care floor at a nursing home.
Through my research and conversations with experts on the facility side, caregivers, Alzheimer’s Association, and designers, and with conversations and observations of my dad and his fellow memory care residents, I’ve started to formulate a Design Prescription.
I now know that there are several things I could have suggested to my mom, which would have helped ease the daily strife of eating, finding a water glass, and knowing if he had taken his medication. I don’t think this Design Prescription can save lives, but I do believe it can reduce stress, conflict, and keep your Alzheimer’s loved one safe.
On Wednesday, January 20th at 11:30amET / 8:30amPT, I’ll be joined by three amazing experts–board-certified neurologist and psychiatrist Dylan Wint, M.D., Attila Lawrence (Professor of Interior Architecture and Design, UNLV School of Architecture) and Stephen Fanuka “Contractor to the Stars” — to share what we know about Designing for Alzheimer’s.
Whether you are in the audience at the Las Vegas Convention Center, or at home or work, watching live as we broadcast this discussion through blab.im*, you’ll be able to share your questions, experiences, and ideas.
I hope you’ll join us.
*blab.im is an interactive online streaming video platform. Blab.im is free, and available as a website and as an app for iPhone or iPad.
https://blab.im/myfixituplife-live-from-las-vegas-designing-for-alzheimer-s
