Hello Ruth,
I was very interested to read your email. I am a researcher in the School of
Architecture at Oxford Brookes University where a colleague and I began a 3-year
EPSRC funded research project in March entitled 'Designing the external physical
environment to improve the quality of life of older people with dementia'.
While I realise that your specific field of interest is in children with autism,
I was wondering if you have any experience or knowledge of studies relating to
the problems people with cognitive impairments face in negotiating the external
built environment? While there has been quite a lot of research over the past
decade or so on the how the design of the internal, usually institutional,
environment can affect the sense of orientation and wellbeing in people with
dementia, we have found little reference to the external environment apart from
its effects on people with physical disabilities.
I would be very grateful for any references etc. you might have on this subject.
Thanks very much,
Lynne Mitchell
Post Doctoral Research Assistant
Ruth Morrow wrote:
> Hi
> I thought I might make my interest in this area - Autism and Access- also
> known.
>
> Just to let you know who I am, since I've been a bit of a silent listener on
> this list.
>
> I'm an architect but since my student days I have been involved in the issue
> of designing for people with disabilities. In fact my last two years on the
> architecture course were spent combining the experiences I had in working
> with a group of autistic children with my own design and written work for
> the course. It seems such a long time ago and I had very little to draw on
> other than my own observations and I suspect we haven't come any further in
> our understanding since then.
>
> Now my job is to educate future architects. I've recently taken up a
> permanent post in Sheffield School of Architecture, last post University
> College Dublin (see DraWare Project's website http://avc.ucd.ie/DraWare for
> which I was project coordinator)
>
> I've been involved in inclusive design/ universal design since 1993 and have
> good connections to those at the leading edge of this, particularly in the
> states- as a group we have just finished a book - The Universal Design
> Handbook soon to be published by McGraw Hill in association wth Adaptive
> Environments, Boston) But as Graham says the majority of discussion and work
> around inclusive design is still focused on physical access.
>
> I would be really interested in trying to redress the balance. A colleague
> of mine, whose own child is autistic, and I would be very interested in
> helping to collate and expand to the existing knowledge around autism and
> access. We don't want to stand on the toes of those who have more expertise
> than us - but we do offer our resources and personal interest.
>
> If anyone would like to contact me directly, my details are below
> Regards
> Ruth
>
> Ruth Morrow
> Lecturer and First Year Coordinator
> School of Architecture
> University of Sheffield
> The Arts Tower
> Sheffield S10 2TN
> tel: 0114 222 0324
> fax: 0114 279 8276
> [log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|