How mental health patients can help design out stress
I recently attended a conference on the design of mental health facilities. TheDesign in Mental Health Network (DiMHN), which organised the event, is a social enterprise that aims to bring together people with a range of experience, such as architects, designers, service users and mental health professionals, to share ideas about the design of mental healthcare […]
Focus on Children’s Mental Health Research at the NICHD
Children’s health and human development includes more than just physical and physiological changes. Mental and emotional health and well-being are as important to a child’s development. Such factors as exposure to violence, parental occupation and stress, special health care needs, injuries, and exposure to illicit and prescription drugs can have long-lasting effects on children. Addressing […]
CAPABLE program team helps Baltimore’s elderly stay in homes
Sarah Szanton spent years as a nurse practitioner calling on low-income elderly patients in West Baltimore. She tells the story of a 101-year-old patient living in a public housing high-rise. The woman could not read, could not walk, and—having outlasted her friends in the building—was afraid of her neighbors.
Easy Chirp Accessible Twitter Interface
Easy Chirp is a third-party web-based twitter interface that provides an accessible alternative to the Twitter.com website. In addition to being more accessible for people with disabilities, Easy Chirp also works with older browsers like IE6, lowband Internet connections, and without JavaScript. Features of Easy Chirp include; visible and accessible links, simple and consistent layout […]
Home Safety Checklists
AARP’s Home Safety Checklist can help you identify and address various hazards around your home. Every year in the United States, nearly one-third of people age-65+ experience a fall. Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths and the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma. More than […]
The city that could help people with AUTISM: Planner designs urban hub to make transport, jobs and public spaces more inclusive for her brother
Finding your way around a bustling city can be difficult – and it can be even trickier if you suffer from autism. The condition affects people in a variety of ways, but it is characterised by deficits in language and social skills, making tasks such as shopping, asking for directions, planning a route and navigating […]
Designing Buildings for Children With Autism
Can we design a building that makes life easier for people with autism? A place where autistic children can learn more easily and develop with less stress? According to architect Magda Mostafa, the answer is yes. And creating these kinds of places, she says, can reveal important lessons about how people are impacted by architecture. […]
Mental Health in Architecture School: Can the Culture Change?
The Graduate Architecture, Landscape, and Design Student Union (GALDSU) at the University of Torontorecently published the results of its first mental health survey, which asked students to reflect on their experience at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. Many past and present students have met the findings, which paint a blatantly […]
Karen Braitmayer
Owner, Karen Braitmayer, FAIA Appointee, U.S. Access Board Karen L. Braitmayer, FAIA, offers the unusual combination of personal experience as a lifelong wheelchair user with her professional expertise as a registered Architect. She has made accessibility consulting and design services her focus since 1990 and co-founded Studio Pacifica, Ltd. in 1993. In 2012, Studio Pacifica […]
Universal Design Takes the Stage at IBS
Speakers Susanne Tauke, owner and president of New American Homes, a custom builder and developer in the Chicago area, and Beth Tauke, associate dean in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo-SUNY, pointed to four specific needs in bathrooms: