Senior LivingThe American way is one of independence, we are taught from a young age to become independent, make choices and find our own path. When we look at the senior community and those agencies, nonprofits and retirement communities offering support to our ageing population we find the montra; "We support independence, choice and dignity for our seniors as they age."
How do we define Independence? Webster's Dictionary defines independence as " the quality of being independent." and independent as "a. not subject to control by others : self-governing or b. not requiring or relying on others (as for care or livelihood) "
The ageing continuiun forces us to consider an adjustment of our definition of independence from the absolute control over our life, choices and reliance on others to some degree of allowance for functional and cognitive decline. Functional and cognative declines affect our our ability to successfully function independently without reliance on others for care an support.
Changing our approach helps us to recognize the need for support, framed by our acceptance of support and understanding that absoulte independence is given up by degrees throughout a natural ageing process allows for continued choice and dignity while living independently.




Independence and AgeingThe ageing community is typically divided into three segments:

Ages 65 to 74

Ages 75 to 84

Ages 85 and above
Considering these three age groups with functional decline in mind, gerontologists find a correlation between advancing declines and increasing need for supportive services. Functional declines double as elders progress through each stage requiring increasing support as each ageing milestone is reached. Figure 1.2 below shows roughly a doubling of in-home care assistance lincoln nebraska care visits as elders move through each age segment.






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