A View of Universal Design

Universal design is known as designing products and environments to be equally usable and accessible without adaptation for individuals of different ages and capacities. It also makes performing tasks easier for everyone without stigmatizing a particular population.
Universal design is one of the basic principles in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is valid in many parts of the world, and it is emphasized that appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that individuals have equal access to the physical environment.
“It is important to apply universal design principles in creating a more accessible and usable environment for individuals.”
Create Equal Fair Use: The design should be appropriate and usable for individuals of different capacities.
Build Flexibility in Use: The design should accommodate a variety of personal preferences and capabilities.
Simple and Intuitive Use is Important: The use of the design should be easy to understand, regardless of the individual's experience, knowledge, language skill or level of attention.
Create Understandable Information: The design must accurately convey the necessary information to the user, regardless of the environmental conditions or the sensory abilities of the individual.
Provide Fault Tolerance: The design should minimize hazards and the negative consequences of accidents.
Requires Low Physical Effort: The design should be usable comfortably and efficiently with little effort.
Provide Size and Space for Approach and Use: Appropriate space and size should be provided for access and use, regardless of the individual's body position and mobility.
 
 
“Universal design benefits in many areas!”
• Suitability of media and products
• Does not create stigma
• Being person-centered
• Cost-effective
The physical environment acts an important role in supporting or inhibiting an individual's ocupational performance, health, well-being, and participation. Environmental barriers as well as environmental facilitators can affect the readings that individuals perform. Barriers in the physical environment can be reduced by applying universal design principles. Universal design is the development of environments or products that can be used easily and equally by all individuals.
Occupational therapists should aim to optimize the environment for the individual by evaluating the sensory, motor, cognitive, perceptual and psychosocial skills of individuals and by analyzing environments and contexts. In the universal design process, it should be aimed to increase the participation and independence of individuals in daily life by working with other disciplines.