Welcome to Module 5, all about the Domains of Accessibility. This module will go over the five domains of functioning by describing each type and common disabilities that fall within that function. The five domains of functioning are physical, sensory, intellectual, social-emotional, and communication. The first domain is physical, which is any condition that could impact physical functioning. Physical functioning is what we typically think of when we think about the word accessibility. Disability conditions can include an individual with an amputation, cerebral palsy, or a spinal cord injury. Accommodations you may make for something within the physical domain are adding places to sit within an event or an area, making sure that there are ramps anywhere that there are stairs, and also including automatic doors on buildings so that way individuals can go through it without having to pull and fold open a door themselves. The second domain is the sensory, which, as described, is any condition that could impact sensory functioning. Individuals with certain conditions like blindness, deafness, autism, or a sensory processing disorder may need accommodations under the sensory domain. Accommodations could look like sign language interpreters to help with communication, closed captioning on all videos, having quiet sensory areas for individuals with sensory processing orders to get away from large crowds or sensory-heavy activities, and finally, providing noise-canceling headphones, once again to help provide a barrier between the loud and overstimulating world and the individual. The third domain is all about intellect or intellectual domains. This is any condition that could impact intellectual functioning. Accommodations may include autism, intellectual disabilities, or traumatic brain injuries. While accommodations can look extremely varied for individuals with intellectual disabilities, accommodations may include plain language so that way your information and support can be understood by everybody, breaking down larger problems into smaller steps. This may be part of accessing a program or filling out paperwork, or having a peer and volunteer support, having somebody be able to shadow an individual who may need an accommodation in the intellectual domain. The fourth domain is all about the social-emotional, which is conditions that impact your social or emotional functioning. Conditions may include autism, ADHD, or other mental health conditions. Accommodations for social-emotional domains may include positive behavioral supports or physical fidgets, having something that is publicly available during large events for individuals with social-emotional disabilities. Similarly, we can also provide quiet sensory-free areas for individuals to get away from large overstimulating areas, just like in a sensory domain, and finally, once again, peer support. Because the best accommodation we can provide is allowing somebody who understands the individual to provide the accommodation. And finally is the communication domain, which is any condition that could impact communication functioning. These conditions may include things like cerebral palsy, developmental disabilities, brain injury, or autism. Accommodations in the communication domain are things like sign language interpreters to make sure everybody is getting the same information, having computers or accessible technology that allows an individual to write down or use auditory buttons to explain their language, and finally, having picture diagrams so that way not everything is just text blocks. In our next module, we will cover Service Animal 101.

accessibility

disabilities

accommodations

sensory disorders

communication aids