Adding a Spring to Seniors’ Steps

The world doesn’t wait for Ruby. The bus driver pretends he doesn’t see her measured walk across the bustling street, harried commuters ignore her cane as she stands on the jolting subway train, and the senior shuttle coach only rolls by every other day. According to associate professor Julie Keysor, these are the barriers and facilitators that affect daily life and the ability of elders, particularly those with disabilities, to live it as fully as possible. “My interest has always been figuring out how to keep elders active and involved in their lives, despite the chronic conditions they have,” she says. Keysor is behind the Home and Community Environment Survey, a self-report assessment tool for older adults like Ruby to help them identify and characterize their environment.

You can read more about it, and Keysor’s other work to help seniors add a little shine to their golden years, in Inside Sargent. You can also watch an extract from post-doctoral fellow Daniel White’s interview with Boston-area senior Ruby to see what life is like when the world doesn’t wait.