Indoor Croquet Anyone?

Oregon has one of the few Assisted Living (Senior & Disabled Living) facilities in the country, that is specialized to serve the needs of the Deaf population.  On a tour, recently, the indoor croquet set, made especially for the residents, was demonstrated by my delightful guide. This set, as you can see, requires little to no bending, and can easily be handled in a wheelchair.

Adapt and move on...that's the challenge we have when legs don't serve as well as they used to, but the beauty of this facility, is that most of the staff are proficient in American Sign Language and are able to communicate directly with their residents as they go through the routines of the day. 

Communication is so important in building intimate and close friendships and relationships, as well as when communicating needs, but isolation is often the result when people who are Deaf, and would normally use sign language to communicate, end up spending their days in an apartment surrounded by people who are hearing, or do not sign. It made my heart sing to see a well integrated community of people chattering away during a seamless supper.  No barriers here.