Environmental Changes to Physical Spaces in Schools
A researcher from NJIT, Architect B. Lynn Hutchings, offers suggestions for schools to make changes to the physical lay out of buildings to accommodate for students with disabilities. Some of her suggestions are:
1. Inter-disperse related services such as speech, occupational and physical therapy throughout the school
2. Auditoriums should have ramped aisles and stages.
3. Use color coded hallways and easy to read signs.
4. Create rules for hallway traffic – i.e. stay to right
5. Book cases and materials at accessible heights for all.
6. Have storage areas for large equipment such as standing frames or gait trainers.
These are all great suggestions and some may be on your wish list. What other simple suggestions can you recommend that work in your school buildings to improve accessibility?
Reference: Improving Schools for Disabled Students is NJIT Researcher’s Mission. Retrieved from the web on 10/22/09 at http://www.physorg.com/wire-news/17512808/improving-schools-for-disabled-students-is-njit-researchers-miss.html.