SBIR-STTR Award

The term universal design refers to the design of products and facilities so they can be used to the greatest extent by all people. (5) Two hallmark characteristics of universal design are adaptability and safety. It is cost effective designing which is functional for the life of the structure and for the facility users. Our intent is to develop an educational program for the purpose of training appropriate individuals in the concept of universal design standards to be used in educational facilities. Universal design allows for increased adaptability of a structure which will be utilized by students from pre-school through adult education. It is a responsive environment which promotes increased safety and supports the needs of the individual users. Phase I of the project will include conducting an in-depth study of the present standards for educational facilities and collecting data to determine the inaccessible areas in elementary, junior high, and high schools in Iowa's area education agency #10. We will develop universal design standards for the remodeling of existing facilities and the development of new educational facilities Anticipated Result Upon completion of Phase 1, it is our goal to have developed a pre-production planning protocol for the preparation of an audiovisual tape, to have written the first draft of an instructional manual, and to have initiated the formal review of the tape and manual by our committee of experts. This committee is composed of persons engaged in professions directly related to design, education, and social work. Phase II will consist of the production of the audiovisual tape and completion and publishing of the manual. We will begin holding workshops to encourage interested parties to sponsor Functional Home Designers for a teaching opportunity. Our educational materials, consisting of the audiovisual tape and manual, will be available at workshop sites or by mail.

Universal Design refers to products and facilities that can be used to the greatest extent by all people. Two hallmark characteristics of Universal Design are adaptability and safety. It is cost-effective design which is functional throughout the lifetimes of the structure and its users. Our intent has been to develop an educational package to train appropriate individuals in the concept of Universal Design and the importance of its use in educational facilities. By emphasizing the individual's functional ability in the environment, educational facilities can provide increased adaptability to serve the needs of students, faculty and community residents from pre-school through adult education. During Phase II we will complete the educational package. This will include an audio-visual tape and an instructional manual. The 15 minute tape will introduce the topic of Universal Design and examine its use in educational facilities. The instructional manual, which will interface with the audio-visual tape, will be divided into two sections. The first will discuss a design approach focusing on an individual's functional ability and the second will illustrate Universal Design standards. The educational package will be field-tested. Marketing will be through workshops, advertisements and book reviews in appropriate publications.

Keywords:
1) Universal Design 2) Disabled 3) Accessible 4) Adaptable Design 5) Safety 6) Audio-Visual Tape 7) Instructional Manual 8) Educational FacilitiesSummary: At the end of Phase II, we will have completed, thoroughly evaluated, and field-tested an educational package consisting of an audio- visual tape and instructional manual created by Barrier Free Resources. The 15 minute audio-visual tape will introduce the topic of Universal Design and interface with the instructional manual. The instructional manual will provide the working criteria for incorporating Universal Design standards into educational facilities. Upon completion of this package, workshops will be scheduled to train appropriate individuals, market our educational package and gain new clients.TOPIC 2: Reduction or Elimination of Environmental Barriers for Disabled StudentsDevelopment of Innovative Approaches to Reduce or Eliminate Environmental Barriers for Disabled Students