Glossary

Accessible design. Defined as design that "is readily accessible to and useable by individuals with disabilities" (U.S. Department of Justice, 2010, p. 6).

Accommodation. In the context of vision, the ability of the lens to change shape in response to the distance of an object.

Achalasia. The failure of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) to properly relax on swallowing.

Active life expectancy. The average number of years an individual at a given age will survive and remain in an active or nondisabled state.

Activities of daily living (ADL). Bathing/showering, toileting and toileting hygiene, dressing, eating and feeding, functional mobility, personal device care, hygiene and grooming, and sexual activity.

Active living. A way of life that integrates physical activity into the daily routine (Deshpande, Dodson, Gorman, & Brownson, 2008).

Adaptable design. Modifications to a standard design for the use by a particular individual with a disability.

Adherence. The extent to which a client follows a health-care professional's advice or recommendations.

Advance care planning (ACP). The process of preparing directives for end of life care in advance of the time when they might be needed.

Advocacy. "Pleading in support of another, defending or recommending in favor of a proposal" (Sykes, 1976, p. 16).

Age in place. To remain in one's own home and community.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Retinal atrophy and scarring, along with hemorrhages in the macula, resulting in a gradual loss of the central field of vision.

Ageism. A negative view of older adults accompanied by discriminatory beliefs and action.

Agency. The ability to act on the environment.

Aging. A process that occurs throughout life.

Alternating attention. The ability to direct or switch attentional resources between two or more tasks or activities.

Amyloidosis. A histologic feature of aging observed in many organs, including the heart and vasculature.

Anorexia of Aging. "An unintentional decline in food intake, and, as a result, of body weight, that begins near the end of life; it represents a sign of failure to preserve steady-state levels of body weight and energy stores" (Donini, Savina, & Cannel, 2003).

Antagonistic pleiotropy theory (Williams, 1957). Late-acting deleterious genes that may be favored by selection and actively accumulated if they have any beneficial effects early in life.

Assistive technology device. Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities (Technology Related Assistance for Individuals Act of 1988, 1994, n.p.).

Astigmatism. A defect in the eye or in a lens caused by a deviation from spherical curvature.

Attractor well. Level of flexibility that ...