Accessibility Criteria for an Inclusive Museum for People with Learning Disabilities: A Review

Abstract

This review strives to collect, contrast, and systematize criteria for an inclusive museum for people with learning disabilities in guidelines and scientific publications. The aim is to provide an overview of relevant criteria and information for museums to improve access for people with learning disabilities. In addition, it will be examined to which extent persons with learning disabilities are involved in the development of guidelines or the research of accessibility requirements. A literature review was conducted to identify relevant accessibility criteria for people with learning disabilities. The review highlights that scientific publications focus on exhibits for the inclusion of people with learning disabilities, whereas guidelines propose general actions and measures. In particular, guidelines mention many access preferences for people with learning disabilities, whereas many of these criteria do not appear to be generally accepted yet, because some criteria are considered important by only one guideline. The small number of relevant guidelines and scientific publications identified in this review signifies that people with learning disabilities are only partly considered within the museum context so far. The importance of participatory research approaches is emphasized but commonly not yet been implemented. There is a need for further research that focuses on access preferences and the specific needs of people with learning disabilities in a participatory way. The development of guidelines should be accompanied by scientific studies, and research projects should pursue more participatory research approaches. Furthermore, the benefits of digital assistive technologies as mediation media should be examined in future works even more.