The paper presents information pertaining to both equipment and human factors associated with playground safety for the handicapped. Research is reviewed on injuries related to public playground equipment, the equipment/user interface, and accommodation of equipment for all children. Noted among findings are that 72% of all reported injuries were…

The authors describe many current school design responses to mainstreaming as limited in scope, focusing mainly on barrier free environments. This approach, they suggest, is an incomplete one to a wide range of problems in mainstreaming. An analysis of the literature is seen to demonstrate that barrier free design is casually substituted for the…

This article describes the stages in developing a special education expert system: orientation, development of a theoretical framework, generation of content for the system databases, and checks for consistency and logic/revision. It explains the synthesis and application required to build the content for the system and discusses typical problems…

At the request of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF) has conducted "a literature search and review to identify best practices in [school] building design for accommodating the evacuation and sheltering needs of individuals with special needs or…

This report summarizes results of research and development projects concerning disabled and elderly people and transportation services carried out at the Department of Traffic Planning and Engineering in Lund, Sweden. This summary is based on 12 previous reports. The first section examines Swedish policy which stresses enabling elderly and…

This article presents a theory for evaluating information and communication technology design for individuals with disabilities. Simplex 1 evaluates designs in five zones: sensory and input zone; output zone; abstract working memory; long-term memory; and central executive functioning. Simplex 2 evaluates feedback, emotional responses, cognitive…

This executive summary of a research synthesis of information about assistive technology (AT) for school children with disabilities focuses on device characteristics as quality indicators of AT for manufacturers, clinicians, and consumers. It also provides an overview of AT use in the schools and how this use is determined or affected by the…

The planning of conferences that are accessible to people with disabilities involves focusing on the accessibility of all aspects of the meeting, including choosing a site, promotion, registration, presentations, and handouts. Any meetings and facilities that are open to the public must comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities…

This report presents a synthesis of information about assistive technology (AT) characteristics, for the purpose of identifying design characteristics that contribute to the quality of AT devices used by school children with disabilities. The first section provides a brief overview of AT, including a definition. The second section describes…

Since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II applies to schools, each school district should have a coordinator to develop an action plan covering the school system. Requirements fall into four areas: general nondiscrimination, equally effective communication, program accessibility, and employment. Compliance with the law is the…