Examples of Skill-Building in Positive Supports

Supportive environments are designed in ways that anticipate the needs of everyone in the setting. The term Universal Design refers to a process that helps people create products and spaces that are accessible to all people with a wide range of abilities. The goal is to create products and spaces that don’t require any additional changes for people related to their size, disability or mental health status.

• Equitable Use: An environment can be used by diverse people of different sizes and abilities
• Flexibility in Use: The setting can accommodate preferences and abilities
• Simple and Intuitive: It is easy to understand what to do in a setting without complex instructions or experience
• Perceptible Information: Information about the environment is obvious and clear to everyone
• Tolerance for Error: The environment is designed to minimize error and provide ways to prevent injury
• Low Physical Effort: A setting requires low effort to move through without causing effort to navigate
• Size and Space for Approach: The space is designed to allow people to easily use no matter what a person’s size, reach, posture, or mobility needs

-National Disability Authority

Universal design is an important element that needs to be considered when helping a child or adult and designing a supportive environment promoting independence, predictability, and equitable access. Universal Design also promotes a feeling of belonging since the environment works for everyone.