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What is life like within an Assisted Living community?
Residents typically have their own private apartment; however, some communities offer companion apartment options.
The community offers meals, housekeeping and social activities. Depending upon their personality and preferences, each resident is encouraged to be active and to interact with other residents on a daily basis. Because some people are more private, assisted living communities respect an individual's personality and afford people their desired privacy. Private people still have interaction with other residents and staff during the course of the day. Most certainly, meal times are a social time.
Planned activities are organized in all assisted living communities. These activities are designed to stimulate mind, body, and spirit. Residents are encourages to participate, and with a concerted effort to engage them in small or large groups through various types of activities.
As a society, we tend to be private and somewhat unsocial people. Before someone moves into assisted living, it's quite likely that they had spent most of their time alone or with their partner. They may have planned times to be social, and they may have spent time out in the community, attending events or simply grocery shopping. By and large, though, as people age, their world becomes "smaller." People are less active, and tend to have interest in shorter periods of interaction and activity.
Assisted Living providers are aware of this situation. They do offer various types of activities, and they create ways to develop impromptu and unplanned interactions with residents and staff; but for the majority of times, people have their independence. At the core of assisted living are the concepts of choice and privacy.
The preferences of older adults may not mirror the preferences and wishes of their adult children. Adult children may want their parents to be more engaged and entertained. The assisted living provider has conversations with the resident regarding their own personal preferences, and they plan and meet the needs of the older adults they serve.
For the most part, assisted living is like an apartment complex. People have the privacy of their own living unit. The benefit of assisted living is that chores such as grocery shopping, meal preparation and cleaning are no longer necessary, giving resident's time to focus on the things they most enjoy, whatever that may be.
This living arrangement meets the needs of a wide variety of people. Outgoing people love it, because they always have something to do. Private people enjoy it, because they know they have the privacy of their own apartment, but people or friends are just a doorstep away. And, in assisted living, there is activity to be viewed without having to participate. In other words, shy individuals enjoy the opportunity to observe activities and events in a way that allows them to feel part of the community, without feeling forced to participate.
Last update: 2007-02-06 21:49
Author: Tech Support
Revision: 1.0
