Universal Design

I student teach at a school for students with autism that couldn't be more poorly designed if you tried. In order to get to my classroom, you need to walk down a flight of narrow stairs into one building, walk up a flight of stairs to exit that building, walk up two flights of stairs in this awkward space connecting the two buildings, and finally walk up three flights of stairs in my actual building. You must walk through four doorways. 

Many of the students at the school cannot walk from place to place independently whether due to mobility limitations or behavioral problems. It is impossible to walk side by side on many of these staircases. Due to the frequency of behavioral issues that the students display, the school actually has a protocol for what should be done if an episode occurs on the stairs to maintain the safety of the student and the staff. It is unfortunate that the design of the school adds safety issues to be addressed when there are already so many. 

The awkward space in between the two buildings