Paper - Late Life Conditions

For this assignment, you will be expected to "take on" various experiences that are present in later adulthood. Spend at least 20 minutes on each activity - and be sure that you are in an environment where your safety is not comprised.

From these experiences, you will write a paper that describes and analyzes your experiences. Please note that there is an additional section for graduate students, which are a required part of the assignment. The paper is expected to be about 6 - 8 pages long, singled spaced with 1 inch margins and 12 point font **.

Activity 1: Eyesight

Take a pair of glasses (sunglasses are fine) and smear a film of lotion over the outside of the lens. Wearing these glasses, maneuver an environment that is familiar to you (e.g, your home). Go from room to room, and if you can do it safely, try and go up or down stairs or some other maneuver in your environment. Try and do some tasks of daily living like brush your teeth, use the bathroom, wash your hands.

Next, take your glasses to an environment that is unfamiliar (yet safe) to you (e.g., the mall or a large department store). Choose a place that will have other people around, so you have to negotiate other individuals' traffic patterns. Try and move around this environment (it might be good to have someone with you to help out!).

Activity 2: Hearing

Get a pair of ear plugs or cotton balls. Wear these in your ears in a situation where you are dialoguing with someone. Try wearing these during a time when a number of people are talking (e.g., dinner table). Also, wear these in a situation where you are expected to hear information (e.g., watching a movie, listening to a public speaker).

Activity 3: Continence

For this activity, you will need at least one hour during a time of the day when you are out of an environment where there is an accessible restroom (such as your home). A good place to do this activity is at a shopping mall or out grocery shopping. Start at a certain time (e.g., 1 pm). For the next hour, stop at each 15 minute interval (you'll probably have to monitor your watch - or set the time if you have a running watch). For example, you would stop at 1:15, 1:30, 1:45, and 2:00.

At each of these stop times, imagine that you had to use the restroom immediately. That is, you are in danger of having an accident if you don't relieve yourself in the next few minutes. For each stop time, determine where the nearest restroom is located and if possible, actually go into the restroom to calculate the length of time that you would need to get to a restroom. If you are driving, for example, is there a fast food restaurant where you could pull over? Could you find a parking spot quickly? Is there a line in the rest room?

Activity 4: Stamina

Measure the length of your average walking stride. Divide this number by ½ and walk using this ½ stride only .Try walking within your home, then go outside in the community and walk at this pace. Try and maneuver a busy area such as a street, shopping mall, parking lot. Carry something rather heavy (e.g., sack of potatoes, bag filled with 5 pounds of sugar or flour) and try to carry from a parking area into your home.

FORMAT OF PAPERS

All papers must be typewritten and single-spaced using one inch margins on all sides and a 12 point, Times New Roman font. Use APA citation style for this assignment, including in-text citations and reference list formatting (with the exception of line spacing). Line spacing can be singled spaces within the paragraphs and doubled spaced between paragraphs. Use section headings in your paper as indicated by APA.