Psychology & Architecture: Improving Learning Spaces for Intellectually Disabled Children

Authors : Navid Khaleghimoghaddam

Pages : 293-305

Doi:10.26835/my.1609178

View : 73 | Download : 74

Publication Date : 2025-08-31

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Children with intellectual disabilities differ considerably from other children in physical, mental, behavioral and social terms. This research aims to identify and investigate the factors that lead to the creation of a special quality in the architectural design of educational spaces for such children. This quality should be in accordance with the characteristics of these children so that they can effectively use their maximum abilities. For this purpose, 80 students with intellectual disabilities from two schools were studied. A survey was used, and the collected data was analyzed using the \\\"Chi-Square\\\" test in SPSS. The results showed that factors such as materials, sound, colors, and proportions in educational spaces have a significant influence on the quality of these environments. Also, children with intellectual disabilities are often confused and anxious; so, architectural design can help to improve their behavior by using soft and curved shapes, colors, dimensions, and proportions of the environment. Given the positive impact that architectural environments can have on the growth process of children with intellectual disabilities, the design of educational spaces is therefore particularly important and such environments should be safe, calm and stimulating.
Keywords : Zihinsel Engelli, Çocuk, Eğitim Alanları, Mimari Nitelik

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