Barrier-Free Design for the Developmentally Disabled

摘要

This report summarizes a three-year project conducted from 1974-1977 by the Building Research Advisory Board (now the Advisory Board on the Built Environment) of the National Research Council. The project was to develop a strategy for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services) that could be used to educate and orient the building industry to be responsive to the needs and concerns of the disabled. The report describes the developmentally disabled in terms of their capabilities and the traditionally negative impact that existing facilities have on them. The institutional structure of the building industry is also described and the development of performance criteria to foster the normal development of the disabled is explored. Barriers to normalization are identified and methods for overcoming these barriers are suggested.