by Carole Ivey, Ph. D., Jayne Shepherd, M.S. and Liz Pearce, M. Ed.
People with disabilities spend significantly less time socializing and participating in leisure activities than people without disabilities (Kessler Foundation and National Organization on Disability, 2010). This sentiment is echoed by parents of children with disabilities (Myers, Mackintosh, & Goin-Kochel, 2009, p. 680) and is the focus of policy emphasizing children’s learning within natural routines and environments (Woods, Wilcox, Friedman, & Murch, 2011). This focus led to a community engagement partnership between the Children’s Museum of Richmond (CMoR) and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Department of Occupational Therapy.
CMoR is a not-for-profit organization that exists to create innovative learning experiences for all children. Partnering together under the support of a VCU Council for Community Engagement grant, the CMoR Learning: Developing Interdisciplinary Partnerships for an Inclusive Learning Community project focused on enhancing the social and learning experiences at CMoR for children with disabilities and their families to discover and engage in inclusive museum opportunities.
Twenty-one MSOT students completed a comprehensive assessment and activity analysis at CMoR as a whole as well as seven specific exhibits. Students incorporated their understanding of Universal Design for Learning principles, natural learning environments, and analysis of physical, sensory, and social environments to develop a report for the museum. This report was paired with reports by expert consultants to identify priority adaptation areas to maximize children’s interaction and learning experiences.
In response to the recommendations, museum and occupational therapy educators worked together to identify student adaptive projects. Eighteen MSOT students designed and built 25 adaptive projects for the museum, including projects focused on art supplies and art accessibility, assistive technology, communication strategies, and social skills. access to a playhouse, and art and music supplies and activities, use of communication strategies, stories, and visual supports to promote social interaction.
Projects design involved judiciously examining available products on the market, talking with wheelchair manufacturers, advising contractors on accessibility guidelines, and working with employees at home building warehouses to select appropriate materials. In most cases, students found that the available products on the market were not built for universal access. For instance, one student researched art easels without crossbars that limit access by wheelchair users. Additionally, she recognized the need for an adjustable height to accommodate for the variety of heights by all ages of children in the museum. This prompted her to design and build an easel with no lateral crossbar and with an adjustable height to accommodate all children. Additionally, the width of the easel accommodated a stroller, wheelchair, or walker so that a child could get close enough to use the easel without any barriers.
Student response to this project was positive, with students reporting that participation in the assessment and adaptation helped them identify participation barriers, understand and apply UDL principles and activity analysis, and be creative. One student commented “This project opened my eyes to the need of a facility that is accessible to everyone. Forced me to think outside of the box…a definite skill required for clinical settings.” Museum educators report parents and teachers are pleased with the addition of specialized tools and manipulatives. One father was delighted that his daughter could use the loop scissors independently, saying, “This is great! Now I don’t have to sit and cut all her craft projects for her. She can do it herself!” The success of the project earned recognition nationally from the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), a member organization representing museums and professionals dedicated to early childhood play, with inclusion in the Top 10 Best Practices at Children’s Museums for Advancing Accessibility. The museum project and it’s components will be featured in the upcoming Winter issue of the ACM journal Hand to Hand.