Designing for Autism: Spatial Considerations
Last week we looked at the different sensory sensitive approaches to lighting design for autism. We saw how contradictory recommendations have arisen from a lack of reliable research specific to autism and lighting. Conflicting recommendations are not limited to lighting. They can be found among nearly every aspect of autism design, including but not limited […]
The Magic Music Table
On the website Instructablescom, which allows users to share what they make, user XenonJohn describes how he built the Magic Music Table. The device was designed to help a child with a disability who is unable to load and operate a CD player or use the small buttons and menus of mp3 players. The Magic […]
A Typeface for Dyslexics
Christian Boer, a typographer at the firm Studiostudio based in the Netherlands, has designed a special font for people with dyslexia. The font, called “Dyslexie,” uses specially shaped letters to exaggerate some of the differences between letters that dyslexics find hard to distinguish from one another.
New York Apartment Complex Will Be Retrofitted for Accessibility
On July 25, 2011, the developer and architect of a 143-unit residential apartment complex in New York, New York, entered into consent decrees with the Department of Justice resolving a lawsuit that alleged they violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) in the design and construction of The Melar, a 22-story apartment building on the upper […]
RUSSIA: Sochi Without Barriers
From the July 2011 Universal Design Newsletter By: Elaine Ostroff, Hon. AIA, founding director of the Institute for Human Centered Design Late in 2010, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee and the Russian International Olympic University (RIOU), met to launch a “National Programme to raise awareness of the Russian Federation citizens on the Paralympic Games and […]
Issues using the Walmart and John Lewis websites with the Jaws screen reader
This video from Ability Net explores the problems that keyboard users and screen reader users can face when attempting to navigate through an inaccessible website. Issues such as non-descriptive link titles, skipping over links, and no visual differentiation marking which link is currently selected can make navigation impossible for many users
13 UNIVERSAL DESIGN PRODUCTS BUILDERS SHOULD BE USING NOW
Earlier this year at the 2011 American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) annual convention, plumbing giant TOTO conducted a 15-minute universal design experiential mini-course, hoping to give architects the opportunity to experience first-hand how physically challenged and older individuals navigate a bathroom.
Mark Derry
Owner of Eastlake, Derry & Associates, LLC Accessibility Solutions An original article contributed by John Salmen Mark Derry is a true entrepreneur in the field of Universal Design (UD). While many in the field gravitated to UD while working as architects or designers, Mark’s professional expertise was honed not through formal education but practical experience. […]
Design Tips for an Age-Friendly City
These tips from the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects can help urban planners and policy makers understand how to design a city to be better able to support people’s independence and well-being as they age. The tips cover areas like public spaces, streets, neighborhood development, buildings and residential units.
Assistive Listening Calculator – Free Mobile App For iPhone and iPad Eases Installation of Assistive Listening Systems
The ADA Compliance Assistive Listening Calculator is a free mobile program for the iPhone and iPad from Listen Technologies. The company describes it as “a complete tool-set for understanding and calculating facility requirements to meet the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design.” The app includes a calculator, e-mail capability, helpful ADA information links, product assistance and […]