THE DEVELOPMENT OF SMART SIGNPOSTS BY USING UNIVERSAL DESIGN TO CREATE SELF-RELIANCE FOR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS, FACULTY OF EDUCATION, LAMPANGRAJABHAT UNIVERSITY

Abstract

The objectives of this article were: 1) to study communication problems and necessities of students with special needs, 2) to create and deliver quality smart directional signs by using universal design and 3) to strengthen self-reliance for students with special needs and to study the usage result of smart directional signs by using universal design to strengthen self-reliance for students with special needs. The sample consisted of 6 students with visual and hearing impairments from the Faculty of Education, LampangRajabhat University. The research instruments were categorized according to the following steps data were collected with a preliminary questionnaire and an in depth interview and data of smart directional signs to measure self-reliance capacity and to assess the satisfaction of smart directional signs. The data analysis were used mean and standard deviation statistics.

The findings revealed that 1) Students with hearing impairment had more communication problems than students with visual impairment at 85 percent and 80 percent, respectively and the students with visual impairment had more travel problems than students with hearing impairment at 95 percent and 75 percent, respectively, 2) The overall creation and quality of smart directional signs were at the most appropriate and consistent with a total mean of 4.74 and a standard deviation of 0.44 and 3) Students with visual and hearing impairments had significantly improved self-reliance skills after using smart directional signs with a total mean of 4.57 and 4.55, respectively.