Pulse 2012 - (Page 32)

Adaptive design Supporting children who have disabilities ■ Jason Nolan is interested in tools that modify physical environments so that children with disabilities can participate barrier-free in play, learning, family life and the community. Jason Nolan School of Early Childhood Studies Children with disabilities rarely get sufficient support for even their basic needs. Yet, it has been proven often that the more assistance they receive early on, the greater the chance of success they will have later in life – in education, careers, relationships and other pursuits. According to Jason Nolan, the director of Ryerson’s Experiential Design and Gaming Environments (EDGE) lab, the field of Adaptive Design (AD) holds great promise for helping such children thrive. AD, Nolan explains, “is rooted in the belief that we need specific tools and techniques to modify physical environments cheaply and easily, so that children with disabilities can participate barrier-free in play, learning, family life and the community.” In this context, Nolan focuses his research on tools that increase children’s autonomy. One of Nolan’s main efforts has involved using cardboard and other easily accessible materials to engineer custom adaptations, therapeutic seats, play tables and computer kiosks. Recently, he has also extended AD into soft-circuitry and wearable computing, such as garments that can allow non-verbal children to speak. His work is supported by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation; the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation; the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; and Graphics, Animation and New Media (GRAND) a Network of Centres of Excellence. “I don’t take a ‘medical’ view of health,” says Nolan. “Instead, I see health as rooted in curriculum and pedagogy. I work directly with children to create new designs that extend their ability to interact with and engage the world around them and, in some cases, to acquire the skills to help others.” Nolan is also active in spreading AD-related knowledge and best practices among fellow scholars and practitioners. A member of the advisory boards of the Adaptive Design Association and the GimpGirl Community, Nolan is the founding co-editor of the journal Learning Inquiry and he co-edited the International Handbook of Virtual Learning Environments. 32 Pulse Health Research and Innovation at Ryerson 

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pulse 2012

Ryerson Alumni - Pulse 2012
Contents
Elizabeth McCay
Trevor A. Hart
Centre for Global Health and Health Equity
Martin M. Anthony
Thomas Tenkate
Fiona Yeudall
Sri Krishman
Ana Pejović-Milić
Victor Yang
Souraya Sidani
Colleen E. Carney
Centre for Health in At-Risk Populations
Catherine Beauchemin
Habiba Bourgherara
Raffi Karshafian and Michael C. Kolios
Jahan Tavakkoli
Russell D. Viirre
Donna Koller
Faith Donald
Judy Finlay
Janet M. Lum
Deborah Fels
Jason Nolan
Bionik Laboratories Inc.
Institute for Stress and Wellbeing Research
Ontario Multicultural Health Applied Research Network
Computational Biomedical Physics Laboratory

Pulse 2012

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