Architecture For Autsim

Christopher wrote: “But the heart of brief cannot be written down. It has to come from an understanding of the autistic mind, the things that are comforting and giving a sense of security, a feeling of space where there are places for being alone and for socialising, an easily understood geography with no threatening or over stimulating features. ”A balance between human factors and environmental factors can undoubtedly converge to create a space where children can be children, not just a child with disability.

Architecture is an ideal as a means to facilitate the treatment of Autism for special purpose. In the initial part of the treatment, the spaces and objects that are required for the therapy need to be correlated with the activities that will take place. The time element will also need to be established in relation with the space and activities. (Pomana, 2014)The spaces need to be placed and managed in such a way that they are easy to identify and interact with the function that they possess.

Moreover, the objects that are found in each zone need to be unique and must be used only in those spaces. In the case of a limited amount of area, different zones can be created inside one room with the condition that they need to be easy to identify through color, shape, furniture and objects. People with autism lack control or at least enough control over these executive functions. This impairment limits their ability to carry out certain things like task switching or focusing their attention on different things on a given stimulus or on another one, at will in order to complete a planned goal. The space and the surrounding elements can be effectively manipulated to create circumstances that can offer comfort and safety to the person, things necessary for people with autism to understand and learn from the external inputs.

Thus, Architecture and Interior design can play a major role in the successful execution of therapies offered to people with autism spectrum disorders. Most interventions for people with autism are predominantly medical, therapeutic and educational which deals with the development of strategies and skills for the individuals. The behaviour of these people can be favourably influenced by the altering of sensory environment resulting from physical architectural surroundings. (Mostafa, 2008)

CONCEPTS REGARDING ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN FOR AUTISM (Humphreys, 2011)

CALM AND ORDER: Reduce stimulation, back drop for therapy, still point, sameness

CLARITY AND SIMPLICITY: Symmetry, ease of use, rhythm, routine, sequence

PROPORTION: The Golden Proportion, abundant in nature, scale, harmony

RESTRAINT: Less rather than more, limit complexity of detail, calm architecture

THE SENSES: Good acoustics, even levels of natural light, texture, good ventilation, cool colours

OBSERVATION: Ability to observe children without intrusion, safety

CONTAINMENT: Places to escape from immediate demands but safe within enclosure

DISTINCTION: Simple clear forms, distinction between spaces for work and leisure and living

MATERIALS: Limit number, durable, good sound qualities calm, natural.

DESIGN CRITERIAS: There have been several studies on the designing criteria for people with autism in relation to create an inclusive learning environment that could help them to grasp more quickly as compared to a non-designed environment. When designing areas for children on the autism spectrum, it is important to have knowledge and understanding of how they experience the environment and the people and objects within it. Architects do face problems in designing learning environments for the spectrum and thus as a result, there are very few well designed schools for Autism spectrum disorder in India.

Required Spaces

Pupils may show different sensitivities to spaces: some will be frightened by large, open spaces and wish to withdraw to smaller spaces, whilst others will not like enclosed spaces. Providing a mix of larger spaces with smaller ones to withdraw to when anxious can help.

Light

Light can have a profound influence on people with Autism. The lighting scheme should be designed considering the hypersensitivity of the complex children. Children with autism are likely to have mood changes often due to lighting. That is why, it’s important that lighting is controllable and monitored in the child’s rooms.

Impact of Different Lights:

Use of indirect lighting must be considered. Different coloured lighting can affect our moods, and a lack of natural light can cause depression. Lights with mellow colours, like blue, can help a child relax and become creative. Flickering, humming or harshly coloured lights, on the other hand, can confuse and even hurt them. For this reason, Light therapy has been used for more than just to relieve these symptoms.

• Incandescent lighting, halogen or natural light is overwhelmingly preferred over fluorescent lighting.
• Non-florescent lighting:Soft non-flickering lighting must be placed on the walls of the central areas of the living accommodation. Ample natural light through high windows (which also provide additional ventilation). Children with ASD often experience a range of sensory problems including an aversion to very bright fluorescent lighting can affect their visual field (Irlen, 1991). Care should be taken to avoid flickering fluorescent lighting as this can be disturbing to people with ASD. Compact fluorescent is acceptable but the specification always needs to be checked to make sure that fittings are fitted with the appropriate diffusers. (Matusiak)It is common for children and adults with ASD to sleep with the light on but a lighting level suitable for waking hours may not be suitable at night. Flexibility is the key here so that the lighting level can be reduced. One possibility is to achieve this by means of a dimmer or scene-setter but these are usually fragile mechanisms and are easily damaged. (Beaver, 2011)
• In particular, Jeremy—a boy with autism described in Newsweek—wets himself within ten minutes of entering a store that uses fluorescent lights. Thus, the current consensus against direct fluorescent lighting appears warranted, but reaching an agreement against poorly designed fluorescent lighting is one thing, resolving how to light an autism facility is another. (Henry, 2011)

Lights Recommended for Different Purposes:

• For therapy purposes, lights that shine at 10,000 lux and emit no ultraviolet light are optimal. The best time for treatment is in the morning, soon after the child rises. Even spending just 30 minutes in the light can improve their mood and sleeping habits. 30 minutes might not be possible in the beginning, however, so while building up to it, another session in the afternoon can help. But therapy at night can have negative effects, worsening a child’s routine and making it harder to fall asleep.
• Daylighting Strategies for Schools The three primary goals for daylighting classrooms include controlling direct sunlight when the building is occupied, balancing the luminance on interior surfaces, and providing adequate illuminance for visual tasks. Providing balanced illumination to the back of classrooms can be challenging. Dramatic differences in lumination among different surfaces within the classroom can cause glare, which can be both visually distracting and stressful34. Traditionally balanced illumination and lumination of surfaces within a classroom were accomplished by a section depth less than 24’ - 0” and tall ceilings, typically greater than 12’ - 0”. With the larger section depth of modern classrooms and lower ceilings often classroom spaces experience glare and require additional electric lighting to accomplish adequate illumination levels.

Natural Light:

Humphreys advocates an extensive use of natural light, but warns against some possible errors: dazzling sun entrance, deep shadows or excessive contrasts, patterned or rhythmic shadow-light sequences, etc. , may produce visual overstimulation. Sandblasted –or otherwise similarly treated– glass generates a convenient diffuse and homogeneous illumination out from natural light. Also, the precise design and placing of windows determines the way natural light spreads out in a given space. Skylights, too, or, even better, clerestory windows, can help getting this kind of diffuse lighting. Use of natural light is also preferred but keeping in mind that there should be no direct sun entrance, deep shadows or patterned or rhythmic shadows as they may cause over stimulation among the person with Autism.

In addition to manufactured lighting, natural lighting also has its affects. Natural lighting has proven benefits for autistic children. Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, caused by a lack of natural light during winter months, can foster behavioral issues and depression. Natural light has been shown to relieve these symptoms. Natural light can help regulate a child’s circadian rhythms. These rhythms govern our body’s “internal master clock”. For example, they tell us when it’s time to sleep. A lack of natural light can cause our rhythms to fall out of sync. Therefore, treatment can make a child with insomnia fall asleep without aids and become more alert during the day, among other benefits.