Concentration Difficulties in the School Environment - with focus on children with ADHD, Autism and Down's syndrome

The overall aim of this thesis was to identify environmental factors that affect children with ADHD, autism, and Down's syndrome and their ability to concentrate in their learning environment at school. The issue of this research is not to dismiss any of the additional resources these children are in need of; instead it is to suggest how to arrange learning environments in the most supportive way possible based on the initial needs of these children. A pronounced ambition concerning the educational policy in Sweden is to organize an all-inclusive school, meaning that schools should be able to meet the needs of all children, irrespective of their capacities and conditions. However, there is no specific guidelines for the school environment as a learning environment considering these children's needs or the needs of those with concentration difficulties. The Human Environment Interaction-model was used to establish the structure of the approach of the thesis, especially concerning the review of previous research, the development of the questions at hand, but also as a holistic method way to fill possible gaps in earlier approaches. The research has been divided into four empirical studies. The first two studies served as a basis for possible principles of generalization and specifics for each disability concerning influences found in the school environment. In Study I, personal assistants and teachers working on a daily basis with children diagnosed with one of the disabilities were approached. In Study II the professionals approached were working at the Child and Adolescent Habilitation Services, thus having a different relation to the children than the informants in the first study. In both studies questionnaires were being used. The response from the 125 personal assistants and teachers, and 137 professionals at the Child and Adolescent Habilitation Services, revealed school-related environmental factors influencing the children in question and their ability to concentrate. The results sometimes showed different influences depending on which disability the children had. It was shown that aspect, such as, façade apertures and room passages, the view, acoustics, interior furnishing, seating arrangements, size of class and classroom, and decoration could influence the children's ability to concentrate, both positively and negatively. In Study III six group-work observations were carried out, revealing the need of individual adjustments. The results from that study also highlighted the difficulty in allocating already built classrooms to children with diminished cognitive abilities for the purpose of supporting their different needs. Finally, Study IV demonstrated the application of the principles within the building process, and that the participants tied to school projects in accordance with the cyclic building process has the potential to implement new knowledge. It may be concluded that these children's ability to concentrate are influenced by the features of their learning environment, which needs to be considered in the allocation of them in the school buildings. It was further concluded, that this knowledge should be implemented in the building process

The building process as a tool towards an all-inclusive school. A Swedish example focusing on children with defined concentration difficulties such as ADHD, autism and Down’s syndrome

Professionals who take part in the building process have long been concerned with the same environmental factors, e.g. spatial layout, capacity, and function, as well as user demography. Through the knowledge gained on the ways environmental factors affect users of buildings, the need to understand how to handle these factors has grown, due to their influence on the building process. It will be shown how research on the influence of environmental factors found in the school environment can be applied to the building process. The purpose is to increase the accessibility to education through prolonged concentration ability among extra-sensitive children who have defined concentration difficulties such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (autism), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Down’s syndrome. This is a direct attempt to implement Swedish legislation (The Swedish Education Act, SFS 1985, p. 1100) regarding children’s accessibility to education, including the aims of the Swedish National Action Plan for Disability Policy (“From Patient to Citizen”, Swedish Government Bill 1999/2000, p. 79), which is based on the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), where it is stated that all children should have equal access to education. The Swedish Work Environment Authority also declares that the work environment, in this case the school, should be adjusted to the physical and psychological needs of the users of the building (The Work Environment Act, AFS 2000, p. 42)

Den fysiska miljöns betydelse för sjukvård och omsorg : Ett miljöpsykologiskt perspektiv

Redan romarna anlade fältsjukhus i natursköna områden för att rehabiliteringen skulle fungera bra. Även i modern tid har man uppfört sjukhus i parkmiljöer i syfte att förbättra hälsan hos patienterna. Sjukhusen har gärna utformats så att det är lätt att ta sig ut till de omgivande markerna, fönstren vetter utåt och trädgårdar planeras för att ge patienterna kontakt med naturmiljön. I slutet av 1800-talet påpekade Florence Nightingale att olikheter i design och konstruktion kunde förklara skillnader i patienternas överlevnad mellan olika sjukhusbyggnader. Med utgångspunkt i samtida psykologisk forskning förespråkade Humphry Osmond i slutet av 1950-talet återigen betydelsen av den fysiska miljön för patienternas väl. Några år senare hölls den första arkitekturpsykologiska konferensen (vad som sedermera blev miljöpsykologi) i Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Vid konferensen diskuterade läkare, psykologer och arkitekter utformningen av bland annat mentalsjukhus (1). Idag finns återigen ett intresse för den fysiska miljön inom vården och miljöns roll i den läkande processen.Miljöpsykologi är ett i grunden tvärvetenskapligt ämne, vilket vuxit fram ur ett samarbete mellan framför allt psykologer och arkitekter, men även med betydande bidrag från andra professioner. Ämnet studerar människors psykologiska och fysiologiska samspel med omgivningen, i syfte att skapa en humant byggd miljö och en god relation till naturmiljö (2). I denna artikel beskriver vi en del av denna forskning, framför allt om miljöer för sjukvård, psykiatrisk vård och åldringsvård, alltifrån sjukhus till särskilt boende, samt miljöer för undervisning av barn med särskilda behov. Tonvikten ligger på vår egen forskning som bedrivs vid Miljöpsykologiska Enheten vid Lunds Tekniska Högskola i södra Sverige. Mycket av denna forskning har tagit sin utgångspunkt i en holistisk teori för samspelet mellan människa och miljö (the Human Environment Interaction-model; 3)