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)