Description
An ageing society is not a distant future. As previously, the word ‘senior’ was mainly associated with retirement, rest, and limited activity; now, people aged 60+ and older are an increasingly strong and numerous social group.
They are often professionally active consumers who are curious about the world and modern solutions.
They are active, but sometimes they also have specific expectations and limitations – physical, digital, or communicative.
That is why the availability of services and products is so important. Guidelines such as WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) or European Accessibility Act (EAA) are being developed to ensure more accessibility and adaptability of a variety of services and products to the needs of the elderly.
Thus, whether you are an educator, volunteer, office worker, salesperson, civil servant, doctor, or app developer, it’s important to learn how to interact with elders.
This means being patient and understanding their needs, but also adapting the way you communicate, design services, and approach customers.
This is an innovative experience-based training course that allows participants to ‘step into the shoes’ of an elderly person using specialised age simulators.
This gives participants a unique perspective and deep empathy for the challenges faced by people aged 60+.
It is a practical lesson in sensitivity, understanding, and building conscious relationships with seniors in the role of customers, patients, students, or service users.
Throughout the course, participants will explore the physical, cognitive, and emotional aspects of growing older.
Using specially designed age simulation suits and tools, they will attempt everyday tasks – like climbing stairs, opening a bottle, or signing a document – while facing the kinds of limitations many seniors live with daily.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to recognize the challenges faced by older adults and learn to respond to their needs.
What is included
Learning outcomes
The course will help participants to:
- Understand the physical and sensory limitations associated with the aging process through the use of specialized simulation equipment;
- Increase empathy and develop a deeper appreciation of the challenges faced by elderly individuals in daily life by experiencing tasks that simulate common difficulties in aging;
- Gain practical skills in recognizing and responding to the needs of older adults, including adapting communication styles and creating more accessible and inclusive environments;
- Enhance problem-solving abilities in designing interventions and solutions that support the aging population in maintaining independence and quality of life;
- Reflect on the role of empathy in creating supportive environments while learning how to integrate these insights into professional and personal practices, ensuring better interactions with senior community members.
Tentative schedule
Day 1 – Introduction to the course
- Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
- Icebreaker activities;
- Presentations of the participants’ schools.
Introduction to the aging theme
- Workshop: How do we imagine old age?;
- Discussion: Ageism, inclusion, and intergenerational dialogue.
Day 2 – Experiencing the body in aging
- Presentation of the age simulation equipment;
- Practical experience: walking, climbing, dressing, writing, and other activities;
- Group sharing: emotional and physical reactions;
- Reflection: How do physical changes affect autonomy and social participation?
Day 3 – Sensory challenges in later life
- Simulating reduced vision and hearing;
- Performing tasks under sensory limitations;
- Exploring communication and environmental adaptation;
- Group workshop: How can we make public spaces more age-friendly?
Day 4 – Understanding through practice
- Hands-on exercises combining motor and sensory limitations;
- Role-playing everyday interactions from the perspective of an older adult;
- Reflective dialogue: What surprised me? What shifted in my thinking?
Day 5 – From empathy to action
- Introduction to inclusive design in education and community work;
- Group work: designing small-scale awareness-raising or educational actions;
- Peer exchange and feedback;
- Planning for real-life implementation in participants’ communities;
- Presenting project ideas.
Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities
- Course evaluation: round up of acquired competences, feedback, and discussion;
- Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
- Excursion and other external cultural activities.
