COGNITIVE: intellectually challenged & autism
Mental disabilities come in a wide variety of types and levels of severity. Some are immediately noticeable, while others are not. Different mental disabilities require specific adaptations and different approaches. Yet there are some adaptations that improve accessibility in general. The outside world poses many challenges and difficulties for the mentally disabled. Most difficulties exist because the outside world is not easy to understand. When you do not understand your surroundings, it becomes difficult to act on them, to keep your orientation, to know your direction, to anticipate events, etc. Combined with the stress of crowds, changing surroundings and strangers, maneuvering in the outside world becomes a frustrating and even terrifying task. Who hasn’t experienced the sensation of feeling completely lost in an unknown environment, with no clear direction and surrounded by strangers you do not understand clearly?
Communication and information are two main components of inaccessibility for the mentally disabled. When trying to reach places in the public realm, one is immediately and continuously confronted with signs, directions and information boards. Although different techniques of giving direction have been designed to make our route towards our destination more easy and smooth, they can also form a source of frustration when they are not clearly understandable. Mentally disabled persons are more easily susceptible to these frustrations. It is especially important for them that information is conveyed in a logical, easy and understandable manner. The standard and most widely used way to give directions is by way of a sign or information board with words on it. This system may work for many people but it is not the ideal form of communication. It is especially failing when it is the only way of communication. Words are not always easily understandable, especially if difficult words or jargon is used. Also the font of words and the shape and size of words have an influence on their readability. Words should be basic, big and clearly readable, without jargon or a variety of fonts and shapes.
Giving directions to places can be done in a multitude of ways. Signs can use the written word, symbols, pictures, drawings, pictograms, etc. To assist the mentally disabled, it is paramount that these different ways are combined as much as possible. For a mentally disabled person, finding your direction and orientation is aided by a clear link between the place you are going to – and what it represents – and what is communicated in the signs. For example, when you are headed for a soccer field to play soccer, the direction to this field can be communicated through a regular sign that says “soccer field” or it can be represented by a ball or a drawing of the field. This helps a mentally disabled person make a link to the place or activity much more easily than through written words alone. So the more such different ways of giving direction are combined, the more accessible the communication becomes. Regular signs and information boards can also be combined by signs on the ground or the walls, such as arrows pointing out the direction. As long as the direction is given in a clearly visible and understandable way.
No abstract drawings, symbols or pictograms should be used. Understanding such references requires a certain level of abstract thinking that many people with mental disabilities do not possess. A site or building plan, for example, should be drawn in a simple manner, with basic shapes, clear points of representation and representative colors that refer to the aspects or activities of the site or place in a straightforward and realistic manner. A certain perspective on the site or building can be added so that it is not too flat and does not require too much abstract orientation. Combined with numbers that explain key aspects of the different parts of the plan in basic words make it more understandable.
Another way to improve accessibility in giving directions and in understanding places is by linking the sign to the place or the route to the place. A simple and easily understandable way to do this is by using color. For example, in a large building with multiple stories and rooms, one story can be linked to the color red. Another can be linked to green, another to blue, etc. The signs, words and route to these stories can also be in those colors so that the communication to these places and the actual place are related to each other through a visible and understandable link. The same can be achieved by adding shapes, such as the rectangle, the square, the triangle, etc., or numbers.
Another important aspect to keep in mind when designing for persons with mental disabilities is that not only the static or built surroundings influence their state of mind. Social interaction and communication with others is often more difficult for them. Stressful environments with loud noises or blinding lights can contribute to a feeling of distress. People with autism, for example, are especially susceptible to such interference and require
a feeling of familiarity from their surroundings. Knowing the way and understanding the place is paramount to their mental wellbeing. The more independent they can be and feel, the better the experience will be because it is often difficult for them to sustain, let alone initiate, conversations or to approach strangers to ask something. When accompanied by someone, it might be important for a mentally disabled person to feel in contact with this person to feel safe. So in private rooms, such as fitting rooms or toilets, it is better that the door or curtain does not reach all the way up and down. In that way, communication can continue and possible feelings of claustrophobia can be avoided.
Not only mentally disabled persons benefit from clear information, directions, signs, better visibility and orientation, etc. Improved accessibility at this level of the public realm affects all groups of people and reduces stress levels by making it more comfortable to explore the wider world.