Journal of Education & Social Policy

Accessibility for People with Cognitive Disabilities: An International Literature Review and Empirical Interview Study
Prof. Dr. Phil. Habil. Hendrik Trescher

Abstract
In the paper at hand, I review research of barriers and cognitive disabilities and present the analysis of expert-interviews with people with cognitive disabilities. Based upon this I discuss to what extent creating mobility that is more accessible might become challenging. The results of my study “Accessibility and cognitive disabilities”, which I conducted under the auspices of the German Bundesministeriumfür Arbeit und Soziales (Federal Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs), demonstrate that only few studies are dedicated towards accessibility in the context of cognitive disabilities. This is the central result of a comprehensive literature review of English and German discourses on special needs pedagogy. Beyond discourse analysis, the study undertakes an empirical analysis of expert-interviews with60 people with cognitive disabilities. The interviews are aimed to explore where and in what contexts these people encounter barriers and what suggestions towards a more accessible environment they might have.

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