Enhancing intellectual accessibility for the learning impaired visitor in Museums

Abstract

Museums have the mission to balance the conservation of their artefacts with providing access to those same artefacts, so that they may be enjoyed by all. This responsibility has led to considerable debate on accessibility in museums, which initially focused largely on physical accessibility and later included discussions about enhancing intellectual accessibility. In a Maltese context, studies have been undertaken on enhancing intellectual accessibility from the mainstream museum visitor, butt there have as yet been no studies on issues of accessibility for visitors with learning disability. The present study focuses on obtaining a baseline of information about some interpretation strategies that are being applied in museums in Malta, and how these strategies may enhance or hinder the experience of visitors with learning disability. Data was gathered from three sources, interviews with curators working with Heritage Malta, a museum- observation study of visitors with learning disability and interviews with the same visitors with learning disability. Curators identified the need for creating more awareness among staff, and to simplify and reduce the amount of information presented, while specifically adapting guided tours and visiting programmes for visitors with learning disability. Visitors with learning disability indicated they were most attracted by interactive interpretation systems and artefacts, but were best engaged by the artefacts themselves and 30 models. They found the audio-guide helpful for their experience, but they argued that the language used was too complex and long and tiring. Visitors expressed the need to have audio-guides and guided tours with less and simpler information, and to have less busy rooms in museums so that they can concentrate and focus better. As expected this study creates more questions than answers, but it can serve its main goal to set the foundation for further research in the field of intellectual accessibility for visitors with learning disability in museums in Malta.