Building support for children and family affected by stroke (BUILD CARE)

The international project "BUILD CARE" examines the role of the built environment in the everyday life of children suffering from stroke. Spatial situations and difficulties in the private and public environment of the children are examined using various architectural and social science methods. As part of this project, Prof. Bartha-Doering`s working group is specifically interested in the visuoperceptual functions of children and adolescents after a stroke. Visuoperceptual functions encompass many visuoperceptive skills, including visual discrimination and matching, object recognition, visuospatial perception, topographical orientation and wayfinding, motion perception, and visual memory. Deficits in these abilities can affect the children`s everyday life, their mobility and their first steps towards independence. Detailed knowledge about visuoperceptive limitations and special needs of this patient group can flow into the future design of the built environment of private and public buildings (e.g. rehabilitation centers, clinics). Therefore, design recommendations are being developed together with the architects and social scientists of the international BUILD CARE project based on the findings of this study. These are shared with architects, patient organizations, and healthcare facilities in an online knowledge platform. The aim of the project is to improve the everyday life of children and families affected by a childhood stroke.