What is a suitable classroom for someone in a wheelchair?
what special features would they need?
i have some examples:
lots of space between desks
things at a low level- bookshelves, door knobs, light switch (can you think of anything else???)
one desk has to be higher so the wheelchair can fit under it
what else?
the question i have for a project is "you are designing a layout for a classroom. design special features that would make the room and equipment suitable for someone in a wheelchair."
if you can find a website that would be great!
Power wheelchairs should not be charged when the person is sitting in them, so needing an outlet for that is unnecessary. The charger is either quite heavy or very loud.
Having the accessible desk near the door is ideal, the wheelie can come and go with the least disruption to the class.But not so close to the door as to not feel included. If there is an outside entrance–some schools are built this way, with a door to the hall, and one to the outside in case of fire–it should have a ramp. A ramp should have a run of 12 inches for every one inch of height. Doors should be a If there is a sink in the room, where students wash their hands before lunch, it should be open underneath so the wheelie can pull up and do the same. The faucet handles should be of the lever type, and so should the door knobs. Doors should not be heavy and hard to push, unless they are the accessible type that you push a button and they open themselves. Doors should be at least 36 inches wide, and walkways in the classroom should be 3 feet wide, minimum,
with 4 feet of available turnaround space in corners. At least one computer station should be accessible–higher table if necessary. You can "google" guidelines for accessible classrooms.
People in wheelchairs have a variety of different needs, depending on why they are in the wheel chair. Spinal cord injury, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy and Birth Defects come to mind quickly, although there are other reasons as well.
Since a wheelchair might be motorized, it might be nice if the wheelchair space(s) have an outlet nearby, so they can charge while learning. locate the outlets so that cords will be unlikely to trip walking students. A bonus might be that these could also power laptops.
References :
Power wheelchairs should not be charged when the person is sitting in them, so needing an outlet for that is unnecessary. The charger is either quite heavy or very loud.
Having the accessible desk near the door is ideal, the wheelie can come and go with the least disruption to the class.But not so close to the door as to not feel included. If there is an outside entrance–some schools are built this way, with a door to the hall, and one to the outside in case of fire–it should have a ramp. A ramp should have a run of 12 inches for every one inch of height. Doors should be a If there is a sink in the room, where students wash their hands before lunch, it should be open underneath so the wheelie can pull up and do the same. The faucet handles should be of the lever type, and so should the door knobs. Doors should not be heavy and hard to push, unless they are the accessible type that you push a button and they open themselves. Doors should be at least 36 inches wide, and walkways in the classroom should be 3 feet wide, minimum,
with 4 feet of available turnaround space in corners. At least one computer station should be accessible–higher table if necessary. You can "google" guidelines for accessible classrooms.
People in wheelchairs have a variety of different needs, depending on why they are in the wheel chair. Spinal cord injury, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy and Birth Defects come to mind quickly, although there are other reasons as well.
References :
My son had a diivng accident at 14, which left him a quadriplegic. He spent his high school and college years in a power wheel chair in classrooms that were not always well designed. His chair had a plastic desk top, so he could see through it when moviing from class to class, but he hated it, and only used in in English class in high school. His college roommate was born with no hands and very short arms. He did everything with his feet–writing, driving his wheel chair, using his computer and video game controller. He needed help with eating as he couldn’t quite manage that with his feet, and he needed help getting the pencil between his toes.