Access Insight - Winter 2022

WINTER 2022

Design for children with disabilities St Lucy's School: a community enriched by difference; inspiring learning for a life of purpose

Inclusive Play Centres The Challenges of Achieving Inclusion in Early Learning Designing WITH children with disabilities Hearing Augmentation and Inclusion in the Classroom UIA Architecture and Children Built Environment Education Network

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IN THIS ISSUE ACAA State Access Consultants Network.................................................2 From the President’s Desk.......................3 St Lucy's School: a community enriched by difference; inspiring learning for a life of purpose..............................................4 Designing WITH children with disabilities............................................10 Hearing Augmentation and Inclusion in the Classroom...................................14 Inclusive Play Centres............................20 The Challenges of Achieving Inclusion in Early Learning...................................24 UIA Architecture and Children Built Environment Education Network: Golden Cubes Award.............................30 Technical Insights: Handrails for Children................................................32

ACAA State Access Consultants Networks NEW SOUTH WALES Contact: ACAA NSW Chairperson

Robyn Thompson

SOUTH AUSTRALIA Contact: ACAA SA Chairperson

Grant Wooller

QUEENSLAND Contact: ACAA QLD Chairperson

Angela Chambers

VICTORIA Contact: ACAA VIC Secretary

Lynda Wilem

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Contact: ACAA WA Chairperson Vacant

Review.................................................35

ACAA COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT PRESIDENT: Lindsay Perry Address: PO Box 252, New Lambton NSW 2299 Email:

vicepresident@access.asn.au

Phone:

0493 100 306

Web:

www.access.asn.au

Editor:

Farah Madon

Winter 2022 Issue Cover photo credit: St Lucy's School Please email the Editor if you would like to showcase your project on the cover of the next Access Insight 2

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VICE PRESIDENT: Farah Madon SECRETARY: Lynda Wilem TREASURER: Howard Moutrie ORDINARY MEMBERS: John Moulang Richard Seidman Bruce Bromley Daniel Bedwell

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

by Lindsay Perry

President of the Association of Consultants in Access Australia

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his edition of Access Insight, Design for Children with Disabilities, looks at what we can do to mainstream inclusion for children with disabilities. We have a wonderful and diverse range of articles, and I would like to extend a big thank you to all our contributors.

As access consultants we generally work within the realms of standards that cater to adults. While we commonly provide advice for early learning centres, primary schools and playgrounds, the needs of children are generally not reflected in the legislation. This edition of Access Insight provides us with a wealth of knowledge including designing for the whole child within the context of a primary school; the concept of working together with people with disabilities rather than for them; hearing augmentation for the classroom – pros and cons; inclusive play centres that benefit the entire community; and teaching through play in early learning centres.

I have a tremendous amount of faith that with all the current research and design approaches the future of our children is in good hands.

On other matters, we have our Annual General Meeting scheduled for 2 December 2022. I would encourage anyone interested in being more involved with ACAA please get in touch – there are exciting times ahead and we welcome new perspectives and ideas to lead us forward.

Enjoy this issue and take care.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

St Lucy's School: a community enriched by difference; inspiring learning for a life of purpose

by Caroline Hart Principal, Stanton Dahl Architects

Caroline is a Principal at Stanton Dahl Architects where she has been working since 2006. With over 16 years of experience working in educational architectural design, she enjoys the meaningful contribution architectural design and engaged partnership can make to the delivery of a school’s strategic vision and in doing so providing new opportunities for the delivery of effective learning, community engagement and support.

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t Lucy’s School is a Catholic School in the Dominican tradition for students with disabilities, located in the leafy heritage suburb of Wahroonga on Sydney’s upper north shore.

In late 2016, St Lucy’s School engaged Stanton Dahl Architects to partner with them to plan the growth of the school from 104 to 240 students, and to develop purpose-built learning areas that responded to the discrete physical, social, learning and developmental needs of their students.

Image: Outdoor play area

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FEATURED ARTICLE The Wahroonga campus was constructed over time between 1959 and 2010.

The majority of the learning areas were developed in the 1960’s when St Lucy’s was a school for the blind.

Built for their time, the existing learning environments were tight, inflexible and in some cases inaccessible, restricting the movement of students and the ability of the teaching staff to respond to the diversity of needs of the students in 21st Century.

In 2019 a masterplan for the campus was approved, reimagining all the existing learning environments to provide the school with new, safe, and accessible learning spaces with all associated support services and amenities. The first stage of development was the proposed new construction of a 3-storey building with 16 purpose-built classrooms over two floors and basement carparking and student pick up and drop off facilities. This building would be called the Dominic Centre.

Image: Building with play area

The Dominic Centre was designed to respond to the school’s focus on the development of the whole child; spiritually, socially, intellectually, and creatively.

Placing emphasis on building students’ capabilities in the areas of communication and social engagement, independence, technology, literacy and numeracy through explicit instruction and specialist support from their therapy services team, specialist teachers and artists in residence.

Accessibility, inclusiveness and a strong engagement with the diverse needs of the students was therefore key to a successful outcome. As was an integrated response to the existing buildings on campus and existing play areas.

Image: Learning area

QUALITY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS The siting of the Dominic Centre on the southern side of the campus allowed for the integrated flow of movement from the north facing play areas into the new learning environments and activity spaces.

Designed for 8-9 students and 3 teaching staff per learning area, the 16 new General Learning Areas (GLA) are fully accessible and furnished with ICT teaching and learning aids for children with special needs, with each learning area being designed with: • A central general activity/learning space equipped

Image: Learning area Winter 2022

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FEATURED ARTICLE with height adjustable work benches, kitchen facilities and a large activity table to bring the whole class group, teachers and teachers’ aides together to share meals, explore STEM projects and exercise life skills.

• Two complimentary learning areas focused on student learning including one-on-one learning support, small group work or simply a space for students to regulate without the stimulation of the class group. These complimentary learning spaces are key to the success of the learning outcomes at St. Lucy’s and are provided to each classroom but also throughout the facility in safe, supervised, indoor and outdoor locations with a variety of scales and adjacency.

The learning spaces at St Lucy’s new Dominic Centre have an intentionally repeated design to provide consistency and knowability between learning areas and floors, to aid students in the navigation of the spaces. Consistency in the design detail was key, creating a seamless and calm design palate. This requirement extended into the detail on the learning areas specifically responding to the following sensory learning requirements:

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Acoustics Reverberant noise can be unsettling for students and impede learning outcomes. The new facilities were specified with absorbent wall linings and high performance acoustic ceiling linings, to reduce the reverberant noise levels and quieten the classrooms. Teaching staff have noted that these fittings have been instrumental in “providing a learning environment that allows for learning to take place for students who are ready to focus and for those who are not self-regulated to coexist with reduced interruption to learning.”

Communication Designed and embedded technological aides including the Phonak Roger Mylink hearing augmentation system, was fully integrated with each classroom to facilitate communication and learning.

Lighting Artificial lighting levels can be adjusted to respond to the needs of each class and individual vision impairment. Soft indirect natural lighting throughout is supplied by generous glazing which makes the most of the tree-lined suburban vistas.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

Image: Customised change rooms with adult change tables and Rifton Vertical changing station

Materials Materials and colours have been specifically chosen to avoid colours that could agitate or fluctuate student energy levels.

ACCESSIBLE DESIGN OUTCOMES Creating quality indoor and outdoor spaces was essential to the design, however, it’s the small things that make the building a success. Inbuilt responses to the key briefing requirements of Safety, Security and Accessibility were indispensable to the everyday running of the school.

Accessibility • Accessibility solutions that responded to the diversity of student needs defined the building design from entry to paths of travel to security and amenities, facilitating the students’ efforts to strive for independence in selfcare and learning in a supportive, dignified and nurturing way.

• With the student population heavily reliant on assisted travel to and from school, a convenient, efficient and safe drop off and pick up area was needed. The extensive basement provides a secure all-weather kiss

and drop zone, allowing students to arrive ready for their day in a safe, secure and calm environment.

• The journey from the carpark to the classroom traverses the Dominic Centre. A lift and vertical stair access connects all three levels.

Compliant horizontal connections into the adjacent existing Veritas Centre, Creative Arts Centre and play areas complete the links throughout the campus.

• Amenities are centrally located to each set of four learning areas with adult change facilities, accessible bathrooms and ambulant facilities provided at a higher ratio than is required under the National Construction Code, responding to the explicit needs of the student.

The amenity design also accommodates the physical height difference in students related to age and ability with two junior pans included in addition to the standard, ambulant and accessible height WC’s.

• Both the adult change facilities (1 per floor) and the accessible bathrooms (2 per floor) where fitted with motorised, height adjustable adult change tables & associated hoists, plus each was fitted with a built in Rifton Vertical changing station. All amenities where fitted with emergency call buttons.

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FEATURED ARTICLE Safety and Security • The safety and security of students and staff is at the heart of the design. The positioning of the Dominic Centre onsite intentionally allows for the building to present itself openly and accessibly to the street whilst providing a double layer of security and safe and accompanied access to and from Billyard Ave. • The stairs and first floor verandahs of the new centre are fully enclosed to ensure student safety from climbing and fall related risks.

This also provided the opportunity for the creation of the first-floor breezeway verandah, overlooking the play area and screened with colourful vertical battens that filter and deflect the midday sun.

• Large internal and external windows throughout the building design allow for diffused natural light throughout the building and support both staff and students in providing comprehensive clear supervision throughout the new building.

The Dominic Centre has now been experienced by the students, tested and flexed through the complexities of Covid and its aftermath. It has

performed, responded and supported both the staff and students as they grow and develop. As St. Lucy’s continues to plan for the future, they know that their students are supported by the St Lucy’s Community and the buildings that house them.

The Dominic Centre St Lucy’s School 21 Cleveland Street, Wahroonga, NSW Architect Stanton Dahl Architects 18 – 20 Oxford Street, Epping, NSW www.stantondahl.com.au Access Consultant Farah Madon Vista Access Architects Pty Ltd www.accessarchitects.com.au Photographer Evan Maclean Photography http://evanmaclean.com

“St Lucy’s School, providing excellence in education that empowers students with the values, knowledge, attitudes and skills to flourish and participate fully in society.”

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ATTENTION!!

Access Consultants, Architects & Occupational Therapists: WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO UPDATE AS4299 - ADAPTABLE HOUSING STANDARD

Livable Housing Silver

AS4299 Adaptable Housing

SDA Design Standards NSW SEPP Seniors & people with a disability

NCC 2022 (Draft) has a diluted version of LHA Silver included as Livable Housing Standard.

NSW is unlikely to mandate use of NCC Livable Housing Standard. AS4299 - Adaptable housing is required by most NSW Councils however it has not been updated since 1995.

ACAA asks you for your support to update AS4299 now!

Email president@access.asn.au with your supporting letter.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

Designing WITH children with disabilities

by Mary Ann Jackson & Ilianna Ginnis

Mary Ann Jackson is a built environment accessibility specialist and director of transdisciplinary consultancy Visionary Design Development Pty Ltd. An architect, urban planner, and access consultant, her work and PhD studies revolve around the disability-built environment intersection.

Ilianna Ginnis is an interior architectural designer at Studiomint, a PhD candidate and a research officer/ teaching associate within the Design Health Collab at Monash University. Her focus is to bring communication access into architecture and spatial design. Ilianna is also a qualified disability support worker, assisting people who have diverse support needs.

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ccording to UNICEF, globally, there are approximately 240 million children with disabilities. Research confirms children with disabilities requiring additional support experience multiple disadvantages and exclusions. One of the main contributors to exclusion, worldwide, is poor accessibility. Whilst accessibility improvement solutions often defer to regulatory standards of physical, sensory and wayfinding and, more recently, web content, poor accessibility also significantly impacts children with diverse communication and cognition needs. A main arena for inaccessibility is the built environment.

The built environment includes all the structures and environments in which people work, live and play. By definition, all built environments are people-instigated. But what happens when the

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built environment is the barrier? When children with disabilities are unable to access and/or fully participate within built spaces, ‘built environment practitioners’ (as defined by Jackson, 2018) are, albeit unconsciously, tacitly contributing to an ongoing cycle of social and educational exclusion. Designing built environments to be universally accessible is the minimum.

Further consideration of how to facilitate active participation and inclusion of children with different needs, strengths, and abilities can better inform built environment practitioners’ approach to procurement, design, and delivery of spaces and places. The following, brief, thought-piece brings together some insights from two PhD candidates examining built environment design through the lens of working together with people

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FEATURED ARTICLE with disabilities, not, for people with disabilities’ representatives. Enabling built environment design that enriches the lives of children with intellectual disability who communicate non-verbally is a particular interest of one of the authors.

DISABILITY The concept of 'disability is evolving. For example, previously older social models involving Charity/Institutional and medical models have highlighted the 'societal othering' of people through exclusion from society with the perceived former intent of confinement and 'treatment of people. Historically, built environment practitioners have neither been called to account nor accepted responsibility for the compounding effects of our professionally socialised tacit knowledge, ie, ingrained ways of thinking/doing, and human impairment. On the other hand, the Social model of disability recognises the built environment as a disabling instrument in itself.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), reflecting the Human Rights model of disability, does not define disability but rather, states:

Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

Therefore, ‘disability’ is not only physical, intellectual and neurodevelopmental conditions are also, potentially, disabling particularly within unaccommodating environments. Intellectual disability refers to a range of conditions that affect the development of the brain. Children may be developmentally delayed which may affect communication. Many children with disabilities also experience speech and language impairments and, as a result, are non-verbal or minimally verbal.

COGNITIVE AND COMMUNICATION ACCESS IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT All humans absorb and transfer implicit learnings through a transformative ‘sign-process’ involving multiple, complex, conscious, subconscious, and unconscious observations, ie, an indeterminable

amalgam of perceptual-manipultive and symboliccognitive processes engenders ‘tacit knowing’.

We all communicate with each other in a kind of shorthand, through a range and combination of signifiers, written and graphic, verbal and non-verbal. Nonetheless, in the accessibility community context, non-verbal communication is an alternative form of communication often used by people with intellectual disabilities, particularly children with intellectual disability. The forms of communication can be gestural, behavioural, AAC (alternative augmentative communication), vocalisations, and personal behaviours. Based on cognitive capacity and receptive and expressive language abilities, each individual communicates differently. Communication is, therefore, widely diverse. Children with disabilities unable to easily use mainstream communication channels require support to translate their needs and desires (Van Rijn, 2012).

The built environment operates in a neuro-ableist manner (Huijg, 2020), meaning it (as an actor with agency in the wider socio-ecological system of humans+environment) prioritises speech and typical forms of communication and development.

Additionally, the built environment has little to no consideration of the communication needs of children with disabilities and as a result, nonverbal children go unheard and unseen. This is evident in many ways. Firstly; children who are non-verbal and have intellectual disability are not included in design processes and conversations of access, secondly; there is little knowledge amongst built environment practitioners of nonverbal communication and cognition and thirdly; guidelines are not designed to take children who are non-verbal into consideration. Therefore, there is no minimum standard or mandatory form of inclusion. As a result, children with disabilities who are non-verbal and cognitively diverse struggle to participate in the program(s) offered by/through the current built environment.

Being in unwelcoming spaces for lengthy periods is often difficult due to the likelihood of oversensory stimulation, particularly where sensory/ quiet rooms (designed to assist in regulating the effects of over-stimulation) are not provided.

Many supermarkets and shopping centres have designated quiet times, ostensibly to assist inclusion of cognitively diverse children. This,

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FEATURED ARTICLE however, often leads to segregation rather than inclusion. Furthermore, such management interventions do not address the underpinning issue of decades of unthinking built environment practice being inconsiderate of people with disabilities’ needs, wants, and desires (Rajapakse, et al., 2019). Creating a design process recognising children with disabilities as the main protagonists begins to break down traditional communication structures (which are based on explicit knowledges) enabling children to communicate their needs the way they want to communicate (Ginnis, 2021).

FACILITATING INCLUSION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES Including children with diverse disabilities and, more particularly, children with intellectual disability who communicate non-verbally, within the design process is therefore critical. By firstly interacting with children with disabilities in the spaces and places they currently inhabit and secondly specifically including children with disabilities in the design process, built environment practitioners will become more aware of the needs of a very under-served demographic who, most certainly, do not fit the ‘normate template’ (Hamraie, 2017). Including children with disabilities in design processes, thereby better enabling ‘fit’ rather than ‘misfit’ (Garland-Thomson, 2011), can tackle social isolation and discrimination in the many areas in which we all work, live and play. For instance,

Figure 1: Alternative and Augmentative communication app. Photo: Ilianna Ginnis 12

by integrating accessible swings into a park design and by installing communication boards, pictorials, and/or other responses to multisensory needs, designers are able to empower children with disabilities to use and enjoy public space.

Such visible features also educate other children (and adults) on the importance of inclusion and diversity. By responding to the diverse needs of children in public shared environments, the built environment, as an actor-agent, can begin to engender empathy more broadly.

However, it is not simply adding an accessible swing and communication board into the local park which is needed. Deeper ongoing relationship building across all sectors (ie, public, private, not-for-profit, and academic), cross-disciplinary conversations, and meaningful engagement directly with people with disabilities are all crucially required to activate change to profoundly ingrained professionally socialised norms.

Developing processes that include children with disabilities at the beginning, middle, and end can have an enormous impact on an outcome. The challenge is, however, how to make these processes both inclusive and mainstream architectural and design language?

Developing processes where children with disabilities, regardless of their strengths and abilities, can participate is essential. Such processes include workshops and activities, offering choice and control, and ethnographic processes where children with disabilities and

Figure 2: Behaviour as communication modelling and sharing.

Photo: Ilianna Ginnis

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FEATURED ARTICLE families teach designers their way of life as well as personalisation where designers cater to the specific likes and interests of children with disabilities.

In addition, and often overlooked, ongoing evaluation throughout the process is critical. More robust ‘monitoring and evaluation’ procedures will enable built environment practitioners to more easily reflect on the success, or otherwise, of built outcomes. Children with disabilities, families, representatives, and allied health support workers must all be enabled to contribute and comment at all stages from procurement, through design, to delivery, completion, and beyond on whether project outcomes meet needs and/or what further supports are required. It is only with such deliberate processes in place that built environment accessibility for non-verbal children with intellectual disability will be improved.

Figure 3: engagement with environment and interests.

Photo: Ilianna Ginnis

REFERENCES Garland-Thomson, Rosemarie, 2011. Misfits: A Feminist Materialist Disability Concept Hypatia, Vol.26 (3), p.591609 Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing Inc. Ginnis, Ilianna. ‘Re-Imagining Communication Access in Design’, Parlour, 24 May 2021. Accessed 14 August 2022.https://archiparlour.org/re-imaginingcommunication-access-in-design-practice/.

Hamraie, Aimi, 2017. 'Normate Template: Knowing-Making the Architectural Inhabitant', Building Access: Universal Design and the Politics of Disability. Minneapolis, MN, Minnesota Scholarship Online, https://doi.org/10.5749/ minnesota/9781517901639.003.0002, accessed 13 Aug. 2022.

Figure 4: Objects as a form of communication.

Image: Ilianna Ginnis

Huijg, Dieuwertje Dyi. "Neuronormativity in theorising agency: An argument for a critical neurodiversity approach." In Neurodiversity Studies, pp. 213-217.

Routledge, 2020.

Jackson, Mary Ann, 2018. Models of Disability and Human Rights: Informing the Improvement of Built Environment Accessibility for People with Disability at Neighborhood Scale? Laws, 7(1), 10. https://doi. org/10.3390/laws7010010 Rajapakse, Ravihansa, Margot Brereton, and Laurianne Sitbon. "A respectful design approach to facilitate codesign with people with cognitive or sensory impairments and makers." CoDesign (2019).

Van Rijn, Helma. "Meaningful encounters: Explorative studies about designers learning from children with autism." (2012).

Figure 5: MPavilion Workshop “Cognition in Design Practice” Ilianna Ginnis and Dr Kanvar Nayer host an empathy workshop educating people about non-verbal and alternative communication needs.

Image: Lee-Marie Nayer.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

Hearing Augmentation and Inclusion in the Classroom

by Lynda Wilem ACAA Accredited Access Consultant Philip Chun Accessibility

Lynda is an associate at Philip Chun Accessibility. She is an ACAA accredited member and architect with over 20 years experience gained at Philip Chun and the University sector.

Lynda spoke with Deaf Children Australia and Word of Mouth Technology about hearing augmentation and inclusion.

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eaf Children Australia was founded in Melbourne in 1862 by Frederick John (FJ) Rose who was a pioneer and trailblazer of education for the Deaf in Victoria and Australia wide. To this day, Deaf Children Australia continues the legacy of FJ Rose and works to provide support, resources and advocacy to children and young people who are deaf or hard of hearing and to their families.

Lynda spoke with Noel, Property Manager at Deaf Children Australia about how building infrastructure and technology can support the education of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

We spoke about how the Building Code of Australia (BCA Part D3.7) requires hearing augmentation to be provided in schools (i.e. Class 9b buildings) where there is an inbuilt amplification system provided. Whilst a building code compliant hearing augmentation system may either be an induction loop system or a system utilising receivers, there is there is little guidance in the BCA on the pros and cons of the different systems in different settings.

Whilst hearing aids can assist people with communication, on their own, they can be insufficient for clear reception and hearing in public spaces, even when public address and amplification systems are provided. The provision a hearing augmentation system, in conjunction with the public address or amplification system, will assist users 14

with hearing aids and cochlear implants, in clearer reception and hearing.

INDUCTION OR HEARING LOOP SYSTEMS An induction, or hearing loop system, is a coil of wire is placed around the room forming an induction loop. The induction loop works with the microphone and amplifier to send sound from a amplifier directly to a user’s hearing aid (when they have turned on their T-switch). Whilst hearing loop systems are designed to reduce background noise and other unwanted auditory stimulus, Noel noted that in real life applications, the operation of induction hearing loop systems can be imperfect in picking up interference from other electrical sources which can be distracting and disconcerting for users. This points to the issue that for hearing loop systems to work well, they need to be properly designed and installed and avoid interference (such as from lights, electronic equipment or electric and magnetic fields, steel in buildings or surrounds).

Lynda also spoke with Andrew Wills from Word of Mouth Technology. Word of Mouth is a leading provider of hearing augmentation and assistive technologies in Melbourne.

The feedback from Andrew was that hearing loops should not be installed in teaching and learning

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FEATURED ARTICLE spaces because as they are of no use in the classroom, as children who are hard of hearing will be provided with a wireless microphone, rather than a hearing aid with T-switch.

RECEIVER SYSTEMS An alternative to induction hearing loop systems are receiver systems which may utliise radio waves (i.e. FM or RF radio waves) or InfraRed (IR) system. Receiver systems are made up of transmitters or emitters which are connected to the sound system output. Users wear either a neck loop or headphones which receive the signal sound from the sound system via the transmitters or emitters. The FM and IR systems can be used by people with or without hearing aids, and, they can also be used by people who have hearing aids, either with or without the telecoil or ‘T-switch.’

Noel suggested that, radio wave (FM / RF) and Bluetooth type systems are preferred as they provide a clearer, cleaner sound for users, and as they can also be used either with or without the neck loop/headset (if the user has a Telecoil hearing aid) and they provide more flexibility in use.

However, inherent to the use of receiver systems are ongoing operational issues. Receiver systems need to be appropriately managed and maintained. Schools (or any facilities) need to have sufficient numbers of receivers and additionally the batteries in the receivers need to be charged after each use. Teachers and staff also need to be trained in the use of the system installed and this training needs to be ongoing.

As Noel points out, too often receiver systems in schools (or other public buildings) are not operational. For example, receivers get lost, batteries run flat or staff who know how the operate the system may leave. The remaining or new school staff may not understand how to operate the hearing augmentation system. This type of system is not a set and forget system, it requires ongoing maintenance and operational support.

Some of the pros and cons of the systems are: Hearing Loop/Induction Systems

PROs • ease of use for users (i.e. don’t have to locate or operate receivers), users do not have to do anything different or extra from others using the space

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FEATURED ARTICLE • low maintenance/ongoing operational requirements • connects to the building’s audio system • if well designed and installed, they are better for large community and public spaces (e.g. community halls, theatres, cinemas, outdoor public realm areas with AV/media systems)

CONs • may pickup unwanted sound which is distracting for users (if not properly installed) • requires building works to install

receivers, i.e. neck loops or headphones) • connects to the building’s audio system • ease of installation • IR systems offer maximum privacy (only recommended for use where confidentiality is required, for example, in the court system)

CONs • requires the use of receivers • ongoing maintenance/operational issues associated with receivers

• privacy (sound may spill into adjacent rooms or spaces)

• as IR systems are based on a line-of-sight system any disruption or blockage of the signal may disrupt the sound (for example, in a theatre or hall, if a user in the audience turns to speak with someone the sound can be disrupted) (and are not generally considered suitable unless required for confidentiality)

• users require a telecoil or T-switch on their hearing aid to access the loop directly.

SOUNDFIELD SYSTEMS

• may be difficult to install in some locations (e.g. stepped theatres, it is generally installed under the flooring, steel in buildings can interfere with the operation of the system)

Receiver Systems:

PROs • provides a clearer, cleaner sound for users • can be used by people with or without hearing aids • flexibility in use (can be used with or without receivers, and there are two options for

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So what about sound-field systems? Soundfield systems are often provided to classrooms these days. They comprise a touch screen microphone transmitter and loudspeakers (generally two per classroom). The wireless microphone is light and can be worn by the teacher on a lanyard. The speakers are also lightweight and can be portable or wall mounted.

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FEATURED ARTICLE The function of the system is to concentrate and amplify the voice of the speaker (i.e. the teacher) and to distribute it evenly throughout the room.

The system is designed to amplify and improve the clarity of the teacher and reduce focus on background noise or chatter. The system can benefit the concentration of all students, as well as reducing voice strain for teachers.

The system also integrates into the classroom’s AV system, and, portable microphones passed around in class allow for hard of hearing students to hear their classmates.

So is this a good system for the classroom? Noel’s feedback was that the flexibility of the system makes it a good choice for the classroom and it is best practice to use this type of system, in classrooms.

Lynda asked, given the portability and flexibility of the sound-field systems, as access consultants we are sometimes asked on school projects if the number of systems can be reduced to only portion of classrooms and the systems be moved around as required.

As noted earlier, hearing loops rely on children using a hearing aid with T-switch (which many children do not have) and do not adequately cater for communication from the teacher or other classmates, infra-red signals are readily disrupted (e.g. line of sight connection required) and WiFi systems are problematic in a school setting where schools have a no phones in class policy and may have unreliable/restricted WiFi networks.

This is echoed in the current Victorian School Building Authority handbook which has the following hearing augmentation requirements for public schools: • a minimum of 2 external receivers with neck loops must be provided per campus • a minimum of 1 transmitter must be provided for every 10 rooms that is operative with any and all aids worn by students to be used with fixed on-wall interface (where the selected system requires such an interface) • hearing augmentation systems that require the following must not be installed in teaching

Noel’s response was 'no' to this. If a classroom hearing augmentation system is a portable one, it becomes inconvenient, impracticable and problematic to move the system between classes.

Noel’s feedback was that every classroom should have an appropriate hearing augmentation system provided and setup and ready to go. Schools should be providing hearing augmentation to all areas and not relying on portable systems, which does not achieve equitable access and excludes some students. A departure from building code requirements should not result in a lower level of access to technology. The experience of the deaf or hard of hearing child should be the same as the rest of their classmates, in all classrooms.

MINIMUM BCA REQUIREMENTS When speaking with Andrew from Word of Mouth, the feedback was that hearing loops, infra-red or WiFi systems should not be provided to school teaching spaces.

Additionally, the feedback was that hearing augmentation is not really of any value in school outdoor spaces or corridors.

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FEATURED ARTICLE spaces – WiFi primary transmission, induction loops in ceilings or underfloor coverings, infrared systems (noting that infrared sound field is permissible subject to the above criteria) Andrew also noted that, given the shortcomings in the BCA, with regard to guidance and requirements for suitable and fit-for-purpose hearing augmentation in school settings. A deemed-tosatisfy approach to hearing augmentation in schools is not the most appropriate solution.

Additionally, it was recommended that projects seek a calibration commissioning report for all hearing augmentation systems installed in order to confirm a properly operating system has been provided.

OTHER TECHNOLOGIES Noel spoke about how technology has been a game changer in the deaf community and a great equaliser, both inside and outside of the classroom. Students with hearing loss can utliise assistive technology (such as hearing aids) and hearing augmentation to support learning and participation in the classroom.

There are now a vast array of technologies which can assist users, whether it be in the home, at school or at work, social/recreational activities, or on public transport.

Train stations are now provided with hearing augmentation to meet DSAPT (Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport) requirements.

At home you can use a device to connect the television directly to your hearing aid, or use a landline phone with captions. Mobile and smart phones can connect directly via Bluetooth to a person’s hearing aid and iPhones are provided with accessibility features such as Live Listen to assist users to listen to conversations more clearly.

Skype, texting and captioning support social communications. In healthcare settings, clinicians who are hard of hearing can utliise wireless stethoscopes via Bluetooth enabled hearing aids and cochlear implants. Portable hearing loops can be used by organisations and individuals alike to facilitate communication.

OTHER FACTORS FOR THE INCLUSION OF CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING IN THE CLASSROOM Whilst hearing augmentation and assistive technology can support in the provision of the best access for children who are deaf or hard of hearing to education, it is not the whole answer.

The communication choice should be with the person who is deaf or hard of hearing The quality of the experience of children in the classroom is influenced by multiple factors, including: the implementation of inclusive teaching strategies by teachers and schools, training of teachers in the use and operation of hearing augmentation and assistive technology, the support and inclusion of peers and friends, not missing out on incidental communication, self-advocacy and the advocacy of families and supporters, deaf awareness of the school community, and the integration of assistive and hearing augmentation technology in school design.

Building design should also support the school’s hearing augmentation and accessibility for children who are deaf or hard of hearing more generally.

Some of the factors to be considered are: • the acoustic quality of the space, minimising reverberation and background noise (will impact on hearing generally, and, also how well hearing augmentation systems operate) (e.g. shape/geometry of the space, provision of soft surfaces, such as carpet, curtains, soft furnishings, acoustic tiles and absorbing materials, avoiding low frequency buzz from installations such as cabling, some light fittings and dimmers) • lighting design (e.g. for lip reading) to increase clarity & decrease visual fatigue • layout of the classroom seating (e.g. in a semicircle or U-shape, round tables) For the classroom setting, the Ava@avascribe website has the following tips: 1. Ensure comfortable lighting 2. Reduce visual noise 3. Sit people in a semi circle 4. Only address people from in front and when you have their attention

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FEATURED ARTICLE 5. Use visual supports to explain concepts 6. Provide notes and resources 7. Address the student, not the interpreter 8. Use the student’s preferred means of communication 9. Design your class with Universal Design for Learning concepts and provide multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement 10. Create a classroom culture of respect 11. Keep open lines of communication with the student 12. Ensure that students are included In summing up, I feel that achieving accessible schools involves multiple and complex factors, covering social and cultural inclusion, teaching methods, building design and appropriate technologies. A critical understanding of the BCA – including its limitations when it comes to the hearing augmentation provisions – can assist us in working towards more accessible and inclusive outcomes in the in classroom.

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Inclusive Play Centres

by Vanessa Griffin Accredited Access Consultant

Vanessa has over 20 years in the construction industry working in a variety of roles from the certification of buildings to the undertaking fire safety upgrades to existing buildings. More recently as an accredited Access Consultant at Vista Access Architects. Vanessa has a passion and drive for access, not only as an Access Consultant but also in the role of Vice President on the Board of NADO (Nepean Area Disability Organisation), and the Disability Access Committee for the Blue Mountains City Council.

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s a mother of two children, an indoor play centre where kids can run themselves 'raggard' and I could sit back and watch them exhaust themselves whilst having fun, seemed like the perfect place. There was protection from the weather, I could grab a coffee and the kids would make new friends and play games with each other. These play centres seemed to be the perfect location, every other parent would rave about them. But, when you have a child with a disability, indoor play centres can be loud, overstimulating, and only for able bodied children, which removes the inclusive environment.

As the Vice President of the Board for Nepean Area Disabilities Organisation (NADO), I had seen an interview with the owner of a new facility known as the 'Shine Shed' which is an all abilities play centre located in Campbelltown.

I did some research and the concept sounded like a great idea, but it was approximately 45 minutes from Penrith and not readily accessible for the participants of NADO, or the local area of Penrith. There is also no direct public transport link from Penrith.

I decided to pitch the idea to the NADO Board in a meeting. But with a different aspect to not

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just be a play centre for children with disabilities but make it welcoming and available to all members of a family and the community.

We agreed as a Board that the concept and idea was something that could benefit the community. As part of the due diligence and strategic planning. NADO appointed an external contractor to undertake a study of the proposal of an inclusive play centre by researching existing play centres (not just inclusive ones), including location, size of facility, potential set up costs and what other centres did not offer.

We decided to proceed with the proposal of an inclusive sensory activity centre and started researching for a location that would be big enough for the vision. A unit within a development, street appeal, parking and an accessible path of travel were key.

The site was secured, plans were lodged and approved by Council and the sensory activity centre was on its way to being delivered to the community (delayed only by the COVID pandemic).

NADO wanted the Centre to be different, and so with that in mind, an onsite café was included, available not only to the facility users but for

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FEATURED ARTICLE

anyone in the area. It includes a fully accessible toilet facility, male and female ambulant toilet facility and an adult change facility. This feature was very important to the organisation, to provide potential clients the ability to play, eat and have accessible bathroom facilities onsite.

While the planning was underway, the play area needed to be safe, and the biggest expense to the build was the flooring to be placed under the equipment. Regupol Safety Tile FX was chosen for specific reasons. The tile is rubber bonded fibres, with dual layer construction which is compacted, and meets the safety requirements of AS422/1-1999 Critical Fall Height Standard. The tiles can achieve compliance of up to 2.8m critical fall, and they provide good shock, noise and impact absorption. As the centre is indoors, noise absorption was key to ensure the centre was suitable for those who may have a disability where they are impacted by noisy environments

The play centre provides: • A liberty swing • An inground flush transition spinner • Wheelchair trampoline • Jump Bag • Monkey bars with two height which allows additional equipment to be rotated such as the nest swing and provides a skeleton for other activities • A sensory room with an interactive projector • A climbing wall The choice of equipment was made in relation to the floor space available, provision of different equipment choices, and the ability to be inclusive with other family members. The equipment also needed to be able to be utilised

Image: Photos of play areas

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FEATURED ARTICLE by the Allied Heath Team to provide tools for the team to help, encourage, explore and develop the members of the community.

This was all part of the strategic plan of the Board of NADO to set this Centre apart from the other established centres.

Safety was at the forefront and we were fortunate enough to have a Defibrillator donated by 'Friends of NADO' which is onsite for the purpose of First Aid.

NADO is NDIS approved for Share My Ability, which has been recognised by external providers who have also been booking session times with their clients in the centres as they have seen the value in the space and the opportunity and experience it provides to the client, and their family and carers.

The standout feature of 'Share My Ability' was the development of school holiday programs and a weekly creative art program durign the school term. These programs have been designed with specific outcomes to help improve fine motor skills, bilateral and hand/eye coordination, creative self expression, the use of different textures and mediums, to name a few.

Allied health practitioners are also on site, including an exercise physiologist, diversional therapist and physiotherapist available for bookings as part of the service provided.

This inclusive play space has been a wonderful, challenging and exciting project to deliver to the community for all to share, visit, explore and play.

It is unique and something NADO is very proud of.

Centres like these are so important. It means that children, parents and carers know there is a safe and inclusive place they can utilise.

Images courtesy of NADO Share My Ability

Image: Play area

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FEATURED ARTICLE

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FEATURED ARTICLE

The Challenges of Achieving Inclusion in Early Learning

by Mandy Lau Founder of Reach & Match®

Mandy is an award-winning designer, social entrepreneur and advocate for disability and inclusion, who specialises in social innovation and empowering people through her inclusive tools. Mandy is also a Singularity University Impact Fellow based NASA Research Park in 2016 and Unleash SDG Global Talent 2017, and her vision is to amplify inclusion in education through research and development, technology and collaboration.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

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reating an effective inclusive classroom can be challenging and complicated. Simply putting children with and without disabilities together does not mean inclusion. Inclusive education requires good understanding and ongoing advocacy, support and commitment.

Every student has unique characteristics, abilities and learning needs, hence students with special needs have different barriers to learning and participating in classes. An effective education system should be designed to take into account these needs. A diverse group of students may have learning difficulties for a wide range of reasons, such as sensory or physical disabilities, learning disabilities, autism, and emotional and behavioural challenges.

TOGETHER WE LEARN BETTER: THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY Effective implementation of inclusion has demonstrated academic and social benefits for both students with and without special needs.

The findings show that everyone involved in inclusive education can benefit from the learning experience.

There are many positive effects of inclusions where both students with and without special needs benefit. Children with disabilities show improvement in areas of communication and social skills, positive peer interactions and educational outcomes. Inclusion offers students with special needs the best opportunities to fully achieve their academic potential. Research has also shown that positive effects on children without disabilities

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FEATURED ARTICLE include positive attitudes and perspectives toward their peers with disabilities.

An inclusive learning environment is important for preparing young students to live in a diverse world. Educators should develop a meaningful and supportive environment for students with disabilities and their peers to participate in an equal way.

with the most curious and innocent children. We do not need to teach children to play because children are naturally motivated to play. However, through play, we are able to teach children about inclusion. Children learn through play. Play provides opportunities for children to explore, and learn the difference between themselves and others.

WHAT IS REACH & MATCH®?

Reach & Match was developed by my Master’s research for children with sensory impairment and multiple needs to develop braille and print early literacy and social skills through tactile strategies and play-based activities. Research into braille literacy, early intervention and inclusion in education informed the design of the Reach & Match learning kit and was developed with a range of educators and specialises utilising a user-centric methodology and co-design approach.

Reach & Match is a multi-award winning holistic learning supports early childhood learning outcomes and the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream Early Childhood Education services and preschools.

Image: Teacher and children are playing the Reach & Match games

PLAY SUPPORTS CHILDREN TO LEARN INCLUSION Working with children with vision impairment and additional needs, I shared joy and excitement

Reach & Match program is an innovative, inclusive play-based learning program for children of all abilities. It enables children with disabilities to play and learn alongside their peers and build the foundational physical, cognitive, language and social-emotional skills that support their wellbeing and learning journey.

Image: Reach & Match Learning Kit

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FEATURED ARTICLE BRAILLE, SENSORY ELEMENTS AND SENSORY FEATURES

APPLICATIONS IN SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES AND COMMUNITIES

The Reach & Match Kit consists of four large double-sided sensory play mats, 26 braille and print alphabet double-sided sensory tiles containing four sounds, a cushion and portable bag. The play mats can create 2D and 3D configurations that provide distinct ways for individual and group learning through play.

In developed countries, such as Australia, the United States, New Zealand, and Hong Kong, the Reach & Match program has a wide reach and is currently being implemented by educators, mobility instructors, physiotherapists, speech pathologists and teachers in a wide variety of educational settings, including preschools, specialist schools, community libraries and targeted early intervention programs.

Over thirty play-based individual and group learning activities that focus on seven core foundational learning outcomes: Braille and print literacy, cognitive skills, sensory integration, sense of satisfaction, language enrichment, body movement and social interaction. The education activities are adaptable and easily integrated to support national curricula learning outcomes.

Image: Reach & Match alphabet tile has both print and braille letter

Reach & Match has also expanded its reach to support Education in Emergencies (EiE) in developing countries and countries affected throughout Asia and the Pacific. Reach & Match has been implemented in partnership with Save the Children, Plan International and UNICEF to support children with disadvantageous in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.

Our evaluations found improvements in children’s participation, learning outcomes, attendance rates and emotional wellbeing, with parents and teachers reporting that the integration of Reach & Match activities provided the children with a sense of normalcy and helped them to process what they had experienced.

Photo (below): Children participating in a Reach & Match activity focused on building social interactions amongst classmates with special needs.

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FEATURED ARTICLE SOCIAL IMPACT Reach & Match was deliberately designed in a way that welcomes all children to play. It’s colourful, tactile and friendly, and simultaneously bridges the gap between children with different needs. It is also flexible and versatile to create different activities that benefit children with a wide range of learning needs and abilities.

The design helps to raise public awareness of inclusive education for disadvantaged groups. Parents and teachers need to make a deliberate effort to offer young blind children with positive early experience of braille. Blind children should have the opportunities to develop the incentive to learn braille literacy, like their sighted peers.

Reach & Match’s impact of inclusion on children with and without special needs has been tremendous. It teaches mutual respect and understanding and raises awareness of different forms of languages. For example, sighted children ask questions about “What is braille?” “Why do some students need to learn braille?” The learning experience generates opportunities for sighted students to appreciate and learn braille literacy. It also highly encourages children with low vision to learn braille at a young age. Also, there are games that require hearing skills and tactile skills, such as matching and sorting games, where all students are required to be blindfolded. It is pretty often that blind students win the listening games. (Each shape of tiles has the same sound when you shake) It really gives a new perspective on the sighted students and provides them with a lot of learning opportunities beyond their reliance on their vision only.

MORE INFORMATION Reach & Match, an Australian social business is spreading a movement of social inclusion from early childhood. Reach & Match Program is endorsed by the Australian Government DFAT. To explore a partnership, go to: https://www.reachandmatch.com

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Upcoming Courses September - November 2022 Courses will be delivered live online via Zoom enquiries to: admin@accessinstitue.com.au CPP50721 Diploma of Access Consulting - 11 days

CPP50721 Diploma of Access Consulting - Course for Building Surveyors - 8 days 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 October and 14, 15, 16 November 2022

17, 18, 19, 24, 25 October and 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16 November 2022

CPP50721 Diploma of Access Consulting Course for Occupational Therapists - 9 days

Bridging Course for CPP50721 Diploma of Access Consulting - 3 days 14, 15, 16 November 2022

17, 18, 19, 24, 25 October and 9, 10, 11, 14 November 2022

CPP40821 Certificate IV in Access Consulting Course for Building Surveyors - 5 days

CPP40821 Certificate IV in Access Consulting - 8 days 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 October and 9, 10, 11 November 2022

17, 18, 19, 24, 25 October 2022

Access Qualifications via RPL/CT Pathways There is a range of options available to candidates to obtain these qualifications including demonstration of Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) and Credit Transfer (CT).

Contact admin@accessinstitute.com.au for options

Accredited Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) Assessor Course 4.5 hours 27 September 2022 (12.30pm – 5.00pm)

Changing Places Assessor Course - 3 hours 3 November 2022 (1.00pm - 4.00pm)

Understanding the New Access Provisions in the National Construction Code (NCC) - 2 hours 13 October 2022 (10.00am - 12.00pm)

CPPACC4005 Conduct Building Access Audits Course - 2 days 17 & 18 November 2022 (10.00am - 4.30pm each day)

Livable Housing Australia - Design Guideline Assessor Course - 2.5 hours 29 September 2022 (11.00am – 1.30pm)

Understanding Access and Universal Design in Parks, Playgrounds and Outdoor Spaces - 1 day 10 November 2022 (10.00am - 4.00pm)

Understanding Access Legislation and Universal Design in Buildings - 1 day 17 November 2022 (10.00am - 4.30pm) Access Institute can also provide in house training to any organisation on a wide range of topics relating to access and Universal Design in the built environment.

Go to www.accessinstitute.com.au to secure your place in any Course www.accessinstitute.com.au

T: 03 9988 1979 info@accessinstitute.com.au RTO Provider Number 22404

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UIA Architecture and Children Built Environment Education Network: Golden Cubes Award Information provided by Allen Kong (Allen Kong Architect Pty Ltd)

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he International Union of Architects (UIA) is a non-government federation of national architectural organisations from 115 countries and territories worldwide. It was founded in 1948 with the aim of uniting architects around the world, providing a platform for sharing knowledge, innovation and collaborative solutions, with a particular focus on sustainable development. The UIA has a governing Council, a range of work groups and commissions, and organises triennial congresses, forums and international design competitions.1 The Architecture and Children work Program is one of the ten work programmes run by UIA. It aims to raise awareness among children of the built environment, architecture, urbanism and sustainable development. Fostering their knowledge in these fields will ensure their development as responsible citizens, able to make their voices heard and influence the political, economic, and social strategies that will shape their cities and their environment.

The Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) is a member of the UIA in Region IV - Asia and Oceania, and has representatives on the Council, the Sustainable Development Goals Commission and various work groups, including the Architecture for All work group with ACAA members Allen Kong (co-Director), Belinda Seale and Eric Martin all currently representing the RAIA. The Architecture for All program works collaboratively with other other work programmes to support the common aims of the programmes.

GOLDEN CUBES AWARDS One of the main initiatives of the Architecture and Children work program is the Golden Cubes Awards. These triennial awards celebrate those preparing our children and young people to 1 UIA website https://www.uia-architectes.org/webApi/en/about

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participate effectively in the creation and intelligent use of architecture that is humane, sustainable and respectful of its context.2 The Golden Cubes Awards (GCA) are now in their 5th cycle. The Awards honour people and organizations that help children and young people to develop a better understanding of architecture and the built environment. Entrants will be invited to submit entries describing activities or products designed to teach children and young people, from pre-school up to and including the age of 18, about architectural design and the processes by which our environment is formed.

PROJECT FOR CHILDREN WITH VISION IMPAIRMENT GETS SPECIAL MENTION IN 2020 GOLDEN CUBES In 2020, a project from Puebla Mexico, where blind children learn about architecture and their city, was recognised with a special mention of Golden Cubes Award.

The project, titled “Tactile models for blind and visually impaired children" had team members Adriana Hernandez Sanchez and Christian Enrique It was submitted by Re Genera Espacio, De La Torre Sanchez. It involved a group of 20 young volunteers from 2017 to 2019. In total there were 240 children with vision impairment aged between 6 to 18 years old participating in groups of 12 over 20 working days.

In the submission for the Golden Cubes the Applicant described their project:

‘The project is based on tactile, threedimensional models of the cityscape and the building as a basis for blind and visually impaired children to get to know their city.

‘They identify the obstacles that arise in their 2 A&C website https://www.uia-architectes.org/en/workprogram/ architecture-children_uia/

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FEATURED ARTICLE paths, as well as the streets where they can walk in peace. They acquire skills through touch and identify characteristics of a building as well as the city. Memory is an element that allows greater control of space. The approach of architecture to children with visual disabilities through tactile models increases their understanding of architecture with the identification of volumes and textures, in addition to their relationship with the auditory sense. It is a collaborative project where all those involved have joined forces to develop the project. The child is a person more sensitive to three-dimensional objects, memorizes space, identifies textures as well as tones depending on the degree of disability. This allows you to plan safe routes to reach the different spaces.

The material is didactic but at the same lime it is a playful element. This depends on who interacts with it, since in addition to helping the understanding of architecture, other cultural dissemination activities such as reading stories and tell historic events can be developed.'

We have been able to work with associations of blind and visually impaired people, such as Leyers Puebla, with the Puebla Science and Technology Council (CONCYTEP) and two local

universities: BUAP and IBERO. We have also worked with people from different disciplines, including architects, graphic designers and psychologists.

It is a research project that has been an important process since 2017. It has involved collaborating with other entities such as laboratories and government programs for resource management.

OUTCOMES AND EVALUATION The tactile models have undergone several evaluations, mainly through models that are being refined according to the recommendations of directors and professors of Leyers Puebla association and the comments and reactions of the children.

Questionnaires have been applied and various workshops have been carried out to show children the characteristics of the models. In the short term, it would be advisable to get more sponsors who support the printing of the models so that the result can be obtained more quickly. Since in this process it has taken us two years to obtain economic and material resources.

CLICK HERE for more information on Golden cubes

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TECHNICAL INSIGHTS

TECHNICAL INSIGHTS The articles featured in Technical Insights are to prompt thought and discussion to assist our members' questions and evaluate their understanding of the technical requirements of Australian Standards and other national/international source material. Technical Insights is intended to provide background information, a different viewpoint, a perspective from an individual with lived experience of disability or to prompt further discussion and/or research by you as an access professional.

Handrails for Children

by Howard Moutrie ACAA Accredited Access Consultant Accessible Building Solutions

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s this issue of the magazine is focussing on children, I have been asked to write an article on the design of handrails for children, so here is the final instalment of this series on handrails.

The BCA requires that in primary schools an additional handrail be provided at a height between 665mm and 750mm. This presumably is to cater for the smaller occupants of a primary school. I have always been sceptical of this

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requirement because, from my experience as a parent, children do seem quite happy to use a normal handrail and I have put this down to the fact that they are used to reaching up to hold your hand. So, is the requirement for a lower handrail valid? I also note that from September, with BCA 2022, a stair or ramp in a childcare centre, shall have a secondary handrail at a height between 450mm and 700mm and have a cross section of 16mm to 45mm in any direction.

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TECHNICAL INSIGHTS As we learnt in a previous Technical Insight, handrails perform two functions, firstly as a aid or guide as we travel along the stair or ramp and secondly, as something to grab to arrest a fall.

Perhaps the lower handrail is not so important as a guide but is an aid to prevent falls as statistics indicate that children and the elderly are most likely to fall on stairs.

As in the previous articles, my first point of call is to see what other Countries require. In the US, the ADA requires that when children are the principal users, a second handrail should be provided with a maximum height of 28”, which is 710mm. So that is somewhat consistent with the requirement within the BCA. In the UK, secondary handrails (for people of short stature) are required to be 600mm above the line of the nosing, which is considerably lower than the BCA. Finally, the ISO Standard covers the whole range, requiring a secondary handrail to be at a height of 600mm to 750mm. Interestingly, and for comparison, AS 4685 Playground Equipment, requires handrails to be between 600mm and 1000mm, and when a second handrail is provided, it shall be above 400mm. This Standard also has additional requirements for (essentially) childcare centres, where the children are likely to be younger where a single rail is to be located between 450mm and 700mm and where a double rail is provided, they must fall within the zone of 400mm to 900mm.

This is at least consistent with the new BCA requirement.

In the previous articles, I have referred to the book, The Staircase by John Templar, and once again I have referred to this work. Templar refers to 2 works, one by Jake Pauls who recommends a height of 24” (610mm) and one by Kevin Lunau who, based on anthropometric data for children aged 4 to 15, recommends 21.8” to 28.7” ( 554mm to 730mm). This led me to a further work, Ergonomics For Children: Designing products and places for toddlers to teens edited

by Leuder and Berg Rice. The following is based on that work.

Handrails for children should be based on how they use the railings and the US requirement which can be as low as 430mm is too low to protect from falls. Referring to research in Canada, it is again suggested that the required handrail height is too low. This research also

found that when presented with two handrails, children would often choose the higher one.

The research identified that younger children were comfortable using a handrail at a height of 770mm. Interestingly, in this book they also refer to research by Seeger and Bails, (yes the same Bails whose research informed AS 1428.1) and they recommended the following handrail heights.

Age

Handrail Height

3 to 6½

870mm

6½ to 10½

875mm

10½ to 14½

920mm

Given the source of this data, I reviewed the requirements of AS 1428.3, which after all is for children with a disability, so some variance could be expected. The following is taken from that Standard.

Handrail Height Age

On Ramp

On Stair

3 to 6½

860mm

860mm

6½ to 10½

900mm

910mm

10½ to 14½

925mm

960mm

So, again there is considerable variance with what is considered an appropriate height. It is interesting that my long held thought that a standard height handrail is suitable for children seems to be supported by research. I was also pleased to see that Leuder & Berg Rice made comment on long held view, that children are used to holding an adult hand and thus are comfortable with a higher handrail.

As it will be referenced in the 2022 BCA, perhaps it is appropriate to also look at the handrail diameter. Research undertaken by Morris & Wilson in the US in 1995, suggests the following grasp diameters for children. Note, this is a reduced version of the data. From this data the recommendation is a diameter of around 32mm for children generally.

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TECHNICAL INSIGHTS Age

Grasp diameter

2½ to 3

28.9mm

3 to 3½

29.8mm

4 to 4½

31.6mm

5 to 5½

32.5mm

6 to 6½

34.3mm

7

36.2mm

8

37.9mm

9

39.7mm

10

40.9mm

11

43.3mm

12

44.7mm

13

47.1mm

One interesting aspect to come out of writing this article is that there is no consideration of climbability. For stairs where there is a drop of more than 4m, there can be no horizontal element in the range of 150mm to 750mm, which

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could be used to aid climbing. There is nothing preventing a stair in a primary school having such a height and the secondary handrail would fall within this zone. In such a case, another safety barrier must be used. In reality, a child can be injured no matter what the height they fall, so perhaps more consideration should be given to this. Leuder & Berg Rice also recognised this as an issue and noted that in the US the high rate of accidents from children jumping or falling from stair landings etc was understood to be a problem but with little in the way of a solution.

So in summary, as with handrails for adults, there is considerable variation between the Standards.

The requirements of the Standards do not seem to be fully supported by the research. This is probably due to the limited data available and the difficulty in changing from tradition. Leuder and Berg Rice concluded in their work that “ Building codes and standards have not adequately addressed these key factors ………This is due in part to inadequate technical information……(and) the political realities of the construction industry ….. and building code development, adoption and enforcement, especially in the United States.”

Sound familiar?

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Reviewed by Cathryn Grant

Cathryn is a senior access consultant at Architecture & Access.

Her background is in occupational therapy and public health.

WHEN THE RISK IS WORTH IT: THE INCLUSION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN FREE RISKY PLAY Organisation: National Institute for Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research Roma, Italy Author: Francesca Caprino Date: 2018 Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338067931_When_the_risk_is_worth_it_the_ inclusion_of_children_with_disabilities_in_free_risky_play

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hildren from a young age show an interest in play that could put them at risk of injury, this is called 'risky play'. It can include play at heights, playing with potentially harmful objects like sticks, speed or playing near fire, getting lost or rough and tumble. During this type of play children challenge themselves and “experience sensations of fear mixed with excitement” (Caprino, page 41).

The article describes the known benefits of this type of play for brain and physical development.

However, unfortunately today children are spending less time playing outdoors without the supervision of adults and that playgrounds have designed out risky play so that they are safer.

at their level, whilst noting that some activities may need to be avoided depending on the child’s disability, but this should be assessed by a trained professional. Playgrounds should be accessible, and they should also be challenging.

It is recommended to include the use of natural elements and have some uneven and bumpy surfaces as this might just allow a child in a wheelchair to experience the thrill of jolting over these at a fast pace!

In summary, a child with a disability may need extra support to access risky play but we should not aim to design-out risk in play environments, especially for children with a disability.

Children with a disability face added barriers to engaging in risky play, these can be due to the disability that they experience, parents and carers being overprotective and denying the child access to risky play, physical or environmental barriers, the fear of bullying or discrimination and lack of care support to access the play environment.

The article proposes that children with a disability should be supported to engage in risky play Winter 2022

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