Ontario has the most comprehensive accessibility law in Canada. Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) 14 Three provinces have enacted comprehensive accessibility laws: Ontario ( Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005) Manitoba ( Accessibility for Manitobans Act, 2013) and Nova Scotia ( Accessibility Act, 2017). In 2010, Canada ratified the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which resulted in implementation of minimum accessibility standards and guidelines. The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.Īppropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user’s body size, posture or mobility.Ĭanadian Accessibility Acts, Legislation and Standards The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions. The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities. Use of design is easy to understand regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills, or education level. The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities. The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities. 12 Table 1 - Principles of universal design 12 13 Unlike accessibility, universal design takes into account individual evaluation and subjective expression on the ability to use and move within and around a space.
12 Through universal design’s appropriate application, objects and spaces can be used by individuals regardless of their age, agility, and/or physical or sensory abilities. 12 It follows 7 principles (Table 1) that acknowledge the spectrum and dynamism of human abilities. Universal design is the concept of creating products and built environments that are accessible and usable by the greatest number of people. Usability is defined as the ability to navigate and interact with an environment on comparable terms with others. 11 This often results in the incorporation of adapted or specialized elements. 9, 10 It focuses on the functional limitations of individuals with disabilities, and attempts to meet their environmental and communication needs by achieving certain standards of usability. 8 Accessibility and UsabilityĪccessible design is the concept of developing equipment and built environments that comply with standards by which they can be objectively assessed. 5 One study of children’s access to nature-based play in summer camps found that those children with disabilities who engaged in challenging nature-based play perceived their bodies more positively, became more self-directed, and took greater initiative. 6, 8 Unstructured play is significant for physically challenged children’s healthy development, as engagement in it allows them to challenge themselves, make friends, create positive perceptions of their disability, and recognize their capabilities. 5, 7, 8 These factors can reduce physically challenged children’s opportunities for play, and drive them towards sedentary activities such as screen time (e.g., watching television and using the computer) or in more structured games. When adapted or specialized equipment is made available, it is often limited in quantity and engaged with alone, thereby highlighting the functional limitations of that child and further segregating them from their peers. This challenge can exclude disabled children from playing with their typically developing peers. 4 Research suggests, however, that some features of a playspace can marginalize those who are less physically able, 1 and it is common for children with varying physical abilities to find that they are unable to access or use the majority of play equipment and its features.
bridges or tunnels) can promote creativity. areas in which children feel they are hidden), and connective equipment (e.g. 2 Furthermore, sandboxes can motivate children to gather and interact in small groups, 3 and environmental variables (i.e., natural/synthetic structures, surfaces, or loose parts), semi-private spaces (e.g. 1 Play spaces can support the development of children’s gross motor skills, social interactions, and creative thought, while children’s engagement with challenging playground and/or physical structures can increase children’s activity levels. Play is essential to children’s mastery of physical, social, and risk management skills, and the physical environment has the potential to either reinforce or hinder acquisition of these skills.
Accessibility and Usability of Play Spaces (PDF)
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