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The Influence of Building Features on Wayfinding by Adults with Intellectual Disability: Towards Achieving More Inclusive Building Design

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The Influence of Building Features on Wayfinding by Adults with Intellectual Disability: Towards Achieving More Inclusive Building Design School of Education Science and Mathematics Education Centre The Influence of Building Features on Wayfinding by Adults with Intellectual Disability: Towards Achieving More Inclusive Building Design Lindsay Maurice Castell This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Curtin University June 2017 i Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgment has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. Human Ethics (For projects involving human participants/tissue, etc) The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) – updated March 2014. The proposed research study received human research ethics approval from the Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (EC00262), Approval Number: SMEC 20070021 Signature: …………………………………………. Date: ………………………... ii Acknowledgements Thank you to all the participants who gave their time and effort to walk through the hospital and participate in the interviews. I am so grateful for your involvement because without your willingness to participate, this study could not have been possible. I hope that your enthusiastic support for this project will be rewarded. Thank you to my supervisory team; Associate Professor Heather Jenkins, Professor Barry Fraser, Professor David Treagust and Associate Professor Monty Sutrisna. Monty, thank you for taking on the supervision of my PhD and guiding me to completion. Your patience, insight and steadfastness were much appreciated. I think it is now my shout for coffee. I would also like to acknowledge the generosity of people along the way who have given their time and guidance willingly; to Dewi Tjia, to Marika Guggisberg, to Steve Basson, to Diane Smith, to Kyle Chow; thank you. Ross James, thank you for your formal edit of the PhD. Your efficient attention to detail is greatly appreciated. Thank you to my very special family, without whom I could never have achieved this goal. To Sarah and Karen; thank you for the joy you have given me in seeing you together and the unwavering love and support you have given whilst I have been undertaking this PhD. To Matthew; thank you for being you. I am so proud to have you in my life. Your love of helping others is an inspiration to us all and your concern for and support for my PhD has been without bounds, not least for never forgetting to ask; “How’s it going?” To Emily; I cannot thank you enough. You have helped me through this whole journey; from helping to arrange participants, to assisting in videoing every trip, to sharing your experience and understanding of intellectual disability and to those very special Saturday morning pre- study breakfasts. I could not have completed this PhD without your love and support. To Simon, thank you for your support of my PhD. The joy that you and Emily have given to people with intellectual disability and the importance you place on making their lives richer has been an inspiration to me and has helped emphasise the need for this study. To Jane; thank you for your immeasurable support and patience whilst I undertook this PhD. You have forgone so much to allow me this opportunity. You helped me when I was uncertain, you supported me when I was down, you were the angel who looked over my shoulder. Thank you with all my love. iii Dedication For Jane, Sarah, Matthew and Emily with love iv Abstract Wayfinding refers to the process used when a person needs to find the way from a known location to another location. It is an essential activity of daily living, enabling access to and within locations for food, work, education, recreation and medical care. For wayfinding to be successful, however, it requires cognitive processing ability to identify, process, store, and retrieve relevant information from the environment during the journey. Whilst this may be within the capacity of a typically developing person, it represents a challenge for a person with intellectual disability who has impaired cognitive processing ability resulting in deficits in adaptive functioning. It can be particularly challenging when seeking locations within large and complex buildings such as shopping malls, office buildings, schools or hospitals. A review of previous research found only limited attention had been given to issues facing people with intellectual disability when wayfinding within the built environment. The aim of this research, therefore, was to develop evidence-based guidance about the influence of building features on wayfinding success in order to support inclusive building design for people with intellectual disability. Guidelines and regulation covering building design in Australia have paid considerable attention to ensuring buildings are appropriately designed for use by people with physical and sensory impairment. However, there has been limited evidence to suggest similar attention has being given to the needs of people with intellectual disability. The aim of this research, therefore, was to develop evidence-based guidance considering the influence of building features on wayfinding success in order to support inclusive building design for people with intellectual disability. The study used a mixed methods research design to explore the effects of building features on wayfinding success by adults with intellectual disability in comparison to typically developing adults. 60 adult participants (30 with intellectual disability and 30 typically developing) were individually observed finding three separate locations within a hospital building in Perth and, immediately following each visit, participated in a semi-structured interview. Video recordings were coded to identify building features used, levels of success in using those features (based on either getting closer to or further away from the intended destination) and any other environmental issues that may have affected wayfinding. Interview responses were analysed to explore participant attitudes towards wayfinding and their use of and preference for individual features. Random forest classification provided an assessment of the influence of features on overall wayfinding success (based on time taken). v Findings from the analysis identified that participants with intellectual disability took longer, travelled further, made more wayfinding decisions on average than typically developing participants and were less successful overall in reaching the destinations (based on time taken). Levels of success in the use of each feature and the influence of each feature on overall wayfinding success have been presented in four wayfinding feature matrices representing the main component feature groups (spatial, visual, sensory and supportive). This research contributes to the currently limited body of knowledge about building design for people with ID and has broad importance for the built environment by offering the means by which building designers can enhance design to accommodate the needs of people with intellectual disability and provide more inclusive building design. vi Table of Contents Declaration .................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... ii Dedication ................................................................................................................... iii Abstract ....................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................ vi List of Tables................................................................................................................ x List of Figures ............................................................................................................ xii Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Descriptors used for participant groups within this study ........................................ 1 1.3 Research background ............................................................................................... 1 1.4 Statement of research problem ................................................................................. 4 1.5 Aim and Objectives .................................................................................................. 4 1.5.1 Aim .................................................................................................................. 4 1.5.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................ 4 1.6 Research methodology ............................................................................................. 5 1.7 Research design........................................................................................................ 5 1.8 Contribution to Knowledge ...................................................................................... 6 1.9
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