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Designing for the Life Span Segment 4

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Slide 47 of 78

[D]

Slide 47 Content

The home of the older person will usually have a singular favorite chair that acts as a "control center," according to M. Powell Lawton, the noted gerontologist. This chair will be carefully positioned so that activity outside the home can be watched and the home itself can be monitored.

• The chair will usually be a single place lounge chair affording sufficient comfort for long duration seating.
• It will likely be carefully located to provide visual control over the surrounding environment.
• As a possession it will have personal value beyond its aesthetic worth or level of comfort.
• A telephone- and television remote- should be within reach.

Narration of Slide 47

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Body measurement is only one consideration in the development of appropriate seating for older adults. it is important to address the importance of seating - both from a human factors perspective as well as in terms of lifestyle and preferences of older adults. M. Powell Lawton wrote extensively about environment and behavior of older adults and gave attention to the chair as a "control center" in the home. Such chairs are typically positioned to observe as well as to use for tasks and activities such as reading or watching television. Older people sit for longer periods of time in comparison to younger people. A chair, one special chair, will be an important part of the home environment.

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