Små barn i förskole- och lågstadieåldern behöver utrymmen att leka och röra sig på för att utvecklas, och dessa behov behöver vägas in i samhällsplaneringen. Tyvärr finns det tecken på att hänsynen till barns behov av plats för lek och rörelsefrihet har tappat i prioritet inom stadsplanering de senaste decennierna. Exempelvis visar forskning att barns tillgång till allmänna platser att leka på i svenska städer generellt sett har minskat. Även barns möjligheter att röra sig fritt i svenska städer har kommit att begränsas alltmer, framförallt av den alltjämt ökande biltrafiken. Det har även konstaterats att allt färre barn går eller cyklar själva till skolan och att cyklandet på fritiden har minskat. Syftet med den här studien har varit att undersöka barns möjligheter att leka och röra sig fritt i stadsmiljöer. Studien har avgränsats till en fallstudie av stadsmiljön Falun-Centrum. Det är ett område på ca 2,5 km2 som är definerat sedan tidigare av Falu kommun och inrymmer Faluns stadskärna med centrumhandel, parker, vägar, bostadsområden, förskolor, skolor etc. Information har samlats in genom en postenkät skickad till vårdnadshavare till 100 barn inom åldersspannet äldre än ett och yngre än elva år, bosatta inom fallstudieområdet. 100 barn motsvarar ca 20 % av det totala antalet i området. Resultaten baseras på 53 svar; 39 svar på postenkäten och 14 svar genom kompletterande telefonintervjuer. Svaren visar att inom Falun-Centrum upplever respondenterna att deras barn har relativt god tillgång på platser att leka på i sitt närområde. Fältinventering av platserna visade att många av platserna var tillräckligt rymliga för att tillåta vidlyftig lek och hade grön och varierad terräng, vilket är bra. Vad gäller trafiksäkerhetsaspekter visar resultaten däremot att det finns stora hinder för barnens möjligheter att röra sig självständigt p g a brist på trafiksäkerhet. Sammanfattningsvis innebär det för barnen att de generellt sett har bra platser att leka på i sitt närområdet (även om det finns undantag), men att de inte kan röra sig självständigt till platserna p g a trafikfaror. Bristen på trafiksäkerhet innebär också att de har dåliga förutsättningar att ta sig till, upptäcka och lära känna nya platser i sitt närområde. I förlängningen hämmar det utvecklingen av deras geografiska förståelse för den omgivande stadsmiljön. Det minskar också deras möjligheter att möta och lära känna andra personer i området vilket försämrar den sociala hållbarheten i staden. / Small children in the age around two to ten needs space to play and move around to be able to develop, and these needs should be considered in the spatial planning practice. Unfortunely there are signs that childrens need for places to play and move around have lost in priority in spatial planning practice in Sweden the last decades. For example research shows that childrens access to public places to play at in swedish citys is reduced. Also childrens possibilities to move around freely in swedish cities are continuously reduced due to increasing traffic. It has also been noted that fewer children walk or bicycle on there own to school and bicycling in the spare time has also been declining.    The aim of this study has been to exmine childrens possibilities to play and move around independently in urban environment. The study is restricted to a casestudy of the city-environment Falun-Centrum. That is an area of ca 2,5 km2 predefined by Falu kommun. It contains the city-center with shops, parks, roads, residential areas, kindergardens, schools etc. Information has been collected by a postal survey sent to guardians of 100 children (about 20 % of the total number in the area) that were older than one year and younger than eleven years during 2017 living in the casestudy-area. The results are based on 53 answers; 39 answers to the postal survey and 14 answers to additional interwievs over telephone. The answers show that in Falun-Centrum the respondents experience that their children have quite good access to places to play at in their vicinity. Field inventory of the places showed that many of the places were spacious enough to allow vast playing and had green and varied terrain, which is good. Though, the results about the safety aspects in traffic shows that there are a lot of traffic hazards that prevent the children to move around independently in the area. In summary it means that the children in general have good places to play at in there vicinity (although there are exeptions), but that they can not go there on their own due to traffic hazards. The lack of traffic safety also means that the conditions for them to go to, explore and get to know new places in their surroundings are severely limited. In the long run it limits the development of their geographichal imagination of their urban surroundings. It also limits their opporunities to meet, get to know and understand other persons in the city. In the long run it inhibits the urban social sustainability.

The diploma thesis focuses on special activities used with visually impaired individuals such as spatial orientation and independent movement activities. The thesis is based both on literature and questionnaires filled in by parents and interviews with children who take spatial orientation and independent movement courses. The first part of this thesis is characteristics of children with severe visual impairment. Next chapter is dedicated to visual defects and injuries of children, including special pedagogy diagnostics. The third chapter deals with special activities used with visual impaired individuals, specifically self-service, training of signing one's self, spatial orientation and independent movement. The final part consists of research - questionnaires and interviews with children who attend spatial orientation and independent movement courses. Keywords: visually impaired, self-service, training of signing one's self, spatial orientation and independent movement.

The topic of this thesis is spatial orientation and navigation in children with combined visual impairment. This study introduces different theoretical stages and compares different attitudes of families, teachers and counselors. Furthermore this study is to identify various levels of parents' awareness of this problem. Qualitative research based on interviews has been used for this observation. The objective of this thesis is to create an information brochure which should then serve as an aid and support for parents with visually impaired children. Such brochure should include basic information about spatial orientation and navigation, as well as it should share personal experience and relevant advice useful in daily life. Recent research suggests that parents of visually impaired children learn about these issues mainly from special education centers or Early Care. Materials obtained at said institutions were, according to research, insufficient. However the availability of these materials was satisfactory. Children with impairment need specific and individual approach and teachers, parents and counselors, when working with children with visual impairment, seem to often focus on different subjects.

Title: Influence of guide dog ownership on physical activity and quality of life of people with visual impairments Objectives: The main objective of the thesis was to examine differences in quality of life and volume of physical activity in persons with visual impairments who own/do not own a guide dog. Methods: It is theoretically empirical work. A quantitative form of questioning was used for the research part of this thesis. The method chosen for data collection was the standardised IPAQ questionnaire and the revised SF-36 questionnaire. The research group consisted of people with visual impairments who own/do not own guide dogs. The survey involved 15 people with visual impairments (7 women, 8 men), out of this number 8 respondents own a guide dog (5 women, 3 men) and 7 respondents do not own a guide dog (3 women, 4 men). The average age of respondents with a guide dog was - women 32 years, men 31 years. In respondents without a dog - women 32 years, males 38 years. Results: The results showed up to twice the time devoted to regular physical activity in a group of visually impaired individuals who own a guide dog, compared to individuals without a dog. Individuals with dogs were measured at 17995 MET-min/week, compared to individuals without a dog who had 5368 MET-min/week. Necessary walking...