The Study of Spatial Safety and Social Psychological Health Features of Deaf Children and Children with an Intellectual Disability in the Public School Environment Based on the Visual Access and Exposure (VAE) Model

• Main Authors: Ning Ma, Sa Ma, Shuangjin Li, Shuang Ma, Xinzhi Pan, Guohui Sun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: visual accessibility; visual exposure; spatial safety; public psychological health; school architecture
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/8/4322
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

Nowadays, there is increasing attention towards the safety and feelings of children in urban or architectural space. In this study, the authors suggest a new approach based on the Visual Access and Exposure (VAE) Model to evaluate the spatial safety and social psychological health features of deaf children and children with an intellectual disability in the public school environment. The authors present a preliminary study of deaf children and children with an intellectual disability in a primary school located in Deyang by measuring the visual exposure and visual access in the public environment. The results illustrate that there are a few spaces, such as a long corridor and the space behind the elevators, that are not very safe for deaf children and children with an intellectual disability. In terms of social psychosocial preference, this special group prefers to stay in low visual access areas, which may be influenced by their introverted and impaired social communication ability. This study could have implications for the existence and optimization of an architecture design for relevant groups. With the increase in school bullying incidents and public psychological health problems related to youth, this approach could be used widely in the area of school safety and public psychological health management.