Glossary
Aging in place, in plain language.
The terms you will hear from doctors, contractors, insurance agents, and other families. Here is what each one actually means at home.
- Aging in Place
- Staying in your own home safely as you age, instead of moving to assisted living.
- Aging in place is the ability to live in your own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age, income, or ability level. It usually involves a mix of home modifications, care support, and planning ahead.
- CAPS (Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist)
- A National Association of Home Builders credential for aging-in-place work.
- CAPS is a professional designation from the NAHB. Someone with CAPS training understands how older adults' bodies, homes, and daily routines change with age, and how to modify a home to support all three. It is a competency signal, not a legal standard.
- ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
- Federal accessibility law for public spaces and workplaces.
- The ADA sets accessibility standards for public buildings, workplaces, and commercial spaces. It does not apply to private single-family homes, but its dimensional standards (door widths, ramp slopes, clearances) are useful reference points when planning home modifications.
- Universal Design
- Design that works for people of any age or ability, without looking medical.
- Universal design is an approach that makes products, buildings, and environments usable by the widest possible range of people. In a home, this looks like lever door handles, curbless showers, wider hallways, and rocker light switches, chosen because they work better for everyone, not just for someone with a disability.
- Home Safety Assessment
- A room-by-room walkthrough identifying fall risks and accessibility gaps.
- A home safety assessment is a structured walkthrough of a home that identifies fall hazards, accessibility barriers, and safety issues, then produces a written plan with prioritized recommendations. Not the same as a Florida-licensed home inspection.
- Grab Bar
- A properly anchored bar mounted to help balance, transfer, or rise.
- A grab bar is a rigid bar mounted into wall studs or with heavy-duty blind anchors, rated to hold at least 250 pounds of pull force. Suction-cup bars are not grab bars and should never be used as the primary hold.
- Threshold Ramp
- A small ramp that eases a doorway step for wheels or unsteady feet.
- A threshold ramp is a short ramp (usually under 6 inches of rise) placed at a doorway to eliminate a step. Common at front doors, back doors, and slider tracks. Available in rubber, aluminum, and wood.
- Curbless Shower
- A walk-in shower with no lip to step over.
- A curbless shower has no threshold between the bathroom floor and the shower floor. It is one of the highest-impact bathroom modifications for someone with balance, mobility, or wheelchair-use concerns.
- Comfort-Height Toilet
- A taller toilet, easier for older adults to sit down on and stand up from.
- A comfort-height (also called "chair-height") toilet has a seat height of 17 to 19 inches, versus 15 inches for a standard toilet. The extra height reduces the strain of sitting and standing.
- DME (Durable Medical Equipment)
- Reusable medical equipment that may qualify for Medicare coverage when coverage requirements are met.
- Durable medical equipment is reusable medical equipment intended for use in the home. Examples that may qualify for Medicare coverage when medical-necessity, prescribing and approved-supplier requirements are met include walkers, wheelchairs, hospital beds and commodes. Grab bars, bathtub seats, raised toilet seats, ramps and structural home modifications are generally not covered by Original Medicare. Coverage must be confirmed before purchasing equipment.
- Fall Prevention
- A set of home and behavior changes that reduce the risk of falling.
- Fall prevention combines home modifications (lighting, grab bars, non-slip surfaces, removed hazards), medical review (vision, balance, medication side effects), and behavior changes (footwear, hydration, exercise) to reduce fall risk. Falls are the leading cause of injury for adults 65 and older.
- Long-Term Care Insurance
- Insurance covering care needs beyond what Medicare pays for.
- Long-term care insurance pays for services Medicare largely does not cover, including extended personal care, assisted living, nursing home care, and often home modifications. Coverage varies enormously by policy.
- HISA Grant (VA)
- VA grant for home improvements and structural alterations for veterans.
- The Home Improvements and Structural Alterations grant helps veterans with a service-connected disability pay for home modifications needed for medical care, mobility, or accessibility. Amounts and eligibility depend on the disability rating.
Rather have someone walk your parent's home?
Reading is helpful. A trained set of eyes in the actual home is better. Request your complimentary Home Safety & Access Assessment (a $699 value) and we will show you what these terms look like in your parent's kitchen, bathroom, and entry.
More reading: browse our resource library.