Designing Outdoor Living Spaces and Sensory Gardens for Autistics

Autism is a multifaceted neurological dysfunction which influences the four primaryregions of sensory processing, communication mechanisms, social interaction skills,and whole child/self-esteem. Outdoor experience leads to less behavioral bonds inchildren and make them ready to find solitude away from adults and others, occupy inthe intended ventures, or are in small, intimate groups. Sensory gardens have beenshown to improve many aspects of children’s and adults’ lives. The relationshipbetween children’s ability to learn, social relations, productivity at work, propensity tocommit the crime and indulge in self-harming lifestyle behaviors, appreciation, andstewardship of the environment and our psychological and physical health, have allbeen studied concerning time spent outdoors in nature . Access to adults has also beenshown to help children connect to nature. This means that the outdoor, as well as theindoor spaces, are understood as crucial to autistics. This paper aims to show the effectof nature and establish guidelines for designing outdoor places for children with autismto make an improvement in their behavior and comfort in the outdoor places.

Keywords:

Autism Spectrum Disorder , Sensory Gardens , Connection with Nature , Outdoor Guidelines , Architecture