Teaching · Related Services

Measure the desk, then fit it to the student.

Enter four measurements and check the space around the desk. The summary compares each with the reference range for the student’s age and keeps the changes with owners and dates.

Measure a workstationWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Related Services toolkit, $99 for 96 items.

The workstation

One record per student and workstation. The example is made up.

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What you get

Teaching · Related Services$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
Measurements compared with the reference ranges, items to change and the changes agreed.
Who it is for
Occupational and physical therapists, assistive technology specialists and teachers setting up a student’s desk.
Format
Browser form. One saved record per student and workstation; printed for the team or as a blank form; CSV; export and import a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Related Services toolkit ($99) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Related Services space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about an order, access or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.
measure from the floor up
Drawn for this page. An inch or two of table height decides whether a student writes with their arms supported or reaches up to the work all day.

How to use it

  1. Start a record with the student’s code.
  2. Measure from the floor to the top of the work surface, and under it for knee clearance.
  3. Measure the highest and lowest things the student has to reach.
  4. Check the route, screen, materials and light.
  5. Agree each change with an owner and a date, then measure again.

Measure a workstation

Where the numbers come from

Adult ranges

The 2010 ADA Standards set work surfaces at 28 to 34 inches above the floor (902.3), knee clearance at least 27 inches high (306.3) and an unobstructed forward reach between 15 and 48 inches (308.2.1).

Children’s ranges

Explanatory notes in the Standards give ranges for elementary students: work surfaces of 20 to 24 inches for ages 3 and 4, 22 to 26 for ages 5 to 8 and 24 to 30 for ages 9 to 12, with forward reach from 20 to 36, 18 to 40 and 16 to 44 inches. They are guidance, not requirements.

Fit the student

A range is a starting point. The right height lets this student sit with feet supported and forearms resting on the surface, so ask the student how it feels and watch them work.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Justice. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design: 306 (knee and toe clearance), 308 (reach ranges), 403.5.1 (route width) and 902 (work surfaces), with explanatory notes on children’s dimensions.
  2. U.S. Access Board. Guide to the ADA Accessibility Standards, chapters 3 and 9.
  3. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 34 CFR Part 104, and ADA Title II, 28 CFR Part 35.
  4. American Occupational Therapy Association. Occupational therapy practice framework (4th ed., 2020): environmental modification.

The example workstation is made up. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.