Design for Autism @designforautism - Tumblr Blog

Sweetwater Spectrum, a California residence for autistic adults, hopes to become a model for like-minded experiments across the country.

In 2009, a pair of academics, Kim Steele and Sherry Ahrentzen, collaborated on “Advancing Full Spectrum Housing,” a comprehensive design guideline for housing adults with autism.

ONE OF THE NEW design goals for supportive living is that the buildings shouldn’t look like supportive living. That said, the project’s lead architect, Marsha Maytum, from the San Francisco firm Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, drew extensively from the Steele and Ahrentzen standards. Many of her design decisions were practical ones, like specifying extra-durable, high-impact wall finishes and replaceable carpet tiles.

Also, there is a floor drain in every bathroom. As Ms. Maytum explained, “Water can be a really interesting activity for people with autism.”

#architecture #autism-friendly

There's no 'one size fits all' approach. But a lot of little things – from colors to appliance noise – can make a big difference.

Today, while the majority of adults on the spectrum live in the home of a parent or other family member, their caretakers are now wondering what will happen when they get older and can no longer take care of themselves – let alone someone on the spectrum.

..autism is a lifelong condition, and just 2 percent of these research funds are focused on the needs of adults.

#architecture #autism-friendly

We are asking these important questions:

Do we want to attract, retain and assist employees with neurological differences?

Do we want entrepreneurship within our organizations?

Ninety percent of all disabilities in the workforce are invisible -- including learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum, ADD, Dyslexia, medical conditions and more. When a disability is invisible, the fear of disclosure can be intimidating.

#neurodiversity #conference

Public health nurse Janson Chan has developed a program for teens with autism so they can form friendships and just be themselves.

In helping to design Autism Teenage Partnership’s deceptively simple program, staffed by other teenagers and young people, Chan drew on his nursing studies, as well as his experience with his brother.

“In high school, my brother had a program he went to every day where he found his best friend and was able to just be himself, so he doesn’t have to worry about looking different.”

The program ended, however, which helped Chan understand how much autistic teenagers needed a place where they weren’t judged or treated differently. “It made me appreciate how important these places are for people to be themselves and develop a social network of friends ... it’s difficult for someone with autism to make lifelong friends, and they’re so prone to loneliness and depression.”

April is Autism Awareness Month, and we at Eyewitness News are taking a look at some issues of concern to that community. Experts say about one in every 45 youngsters today will be diagnosed with the condition.

This 3-year-old company designs apps which assist in educating autistic individuals. Christopher Flint is one of the so-founders and is a recognized advocate in promoting employment for autistic young adults. In fact he was once Ned's counselor and first spotted his potential for Infiniteach. "When he comes to work he is super focused on the job that he's doing. There are so many benefits to hiring an adult with autism and from Ned's side, I think he's in the community, he's working alongside other people. We're learning from him as well as he's learning from us how to become a contributing member of society," Flint says.

#technology

A Stanford grad student's invention uses Google Glass to help autistic children recognize facial and social cues in real time

“But there are just not enough therapists to meet increasing demand, and flash cards are removed from real life,” Voss says. The Autism Glass would give kids real-time social cues in a daily life setting while providing parents and psychologists data to better understand autism.

#wearables

Bye’s partner at Morrama is fellow designer Jo Barnard. She says that over the years she’s worked with him, she’s learned to trust his rapid visual problem-solving, even if he’s not always able to express how he arrives at a solution, and the two make a formidable team.

“At uni I partnered with another dyslexic designer,” says Bye, “and we worked at a much faster rate than the other students, and were far more productive.”

#design

The store provides goods for children with special needs -- necessities that would otherwise be hard to find without having to shop online.

Melissa Palermo recently opened the Island Sensory Shoppe in Staten Island. The store provides goods for children with special needs — necessities that would otherwise be hard to find without having to shop online

#products

Garden designers are highlighting ways to make green spaces "autism-friendly", as a natural and low-cost way to help people with the condition.

“The designers have come up with a series of tips for making green spaces good for those who have the disorder, which is characterised by impaired social interaction, communication difficulties and a need for routine and repetition.

They include providing calming and delicate scents, such as roses, elderflower and jasmine which are beneficial to autistic people who can have acute senses, and creating a calm zone as they can be sensitive to noise, light and heat.

There should also be an action area, if space allows, for exercising or letting off steam, while planting for the gardens could include herbs such as chamomile, which can be made into a soothing tea, and soft grasses that blow in the wind.”

#autism-friendly #Environment

This Saturday, April 2, is World Autism Awareness Day! The UN is holding an observance at their Headquarters in NYC.

The architect of New Struan, Andrew Lester of Aitken Turnbull Architects, is also the parent of a young woman with ASD. Combining his skills as an architect with his personal knowledge and understanding of ASD and consulting widely with our own staff, parents and pupils, he developed a blueprint for a unique, learning-friendly school that has at its core, the best interests of children with autism.

The design of New Struan School takes account of the recommendations of the Scottish Government and then goes a step further to address the ‘value added’ components that are essential to a specialised service for pupils with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

#autism design #environment #autism-friendly

Color Communication Badges

Color Communication Badges offer those who use them an opportunity to communicate explicitly the degree to which they want to participate in new social interactions and with who. They offer a universally designed way of making a conference, university, event or other space more accessible to those who may not find typical nonverbal social cues accessible.

#autism design #autism-friendly #conference planning

Every April is Autism Awareness Month, and April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. Why not celebrate April 2 by wearing blue to show your solidarity, and do something meaningful to support autism ad…

“Sensory overload is at the root of many other symptoms of autism, such as fragmented attention, and difficulty with social interaction or adapting to new environments. All these problems result from the autistic brain’s inability to efficiently separate relevant from irrelevant inputs: in problem-solving, understanding social cues, and managing change.”

#sensory friendly #autism design

With expert help, the cast and crew of the Broadway play “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” have softened its sensory edges for an audience within the autism spectrum.

The New York performance will involve no changes in the script or the performance itself. For hours last week, the associate director, Benjamin Endsley Klein, worked with engineers and autism specialists on dialing down blasts of sound and light that engage most audiences but can alienate people like Mr. Smolin. Strobe lights were eliminated; sounds levels dropped by 10 percent to 65 percent, depending on the effect; and the houselights were brought up to only about 30 percent of normal...That dim lighting allows for easier navigation of the theater and will also soften the effect of the opening scene.

The cultural landscape for families dealing with an autism diagnosis is relatively spare. Train exhibitions are popular; the one at the New York Transit Museum annex in Grand Central Terminal is a favored destination. So are museum installations that include machines, computers or favorite animals. Yet theater is in one sense an ideal platform to engage this audience. Actors inhabit the emotional lives of others — precisely the skill that so many in the audience on Sunday lack.

#autism design #sensory friendly #theater

Research undertaken by faculty and students at the ASU Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family, and ASU’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, led to the formulation of evidence-based design goals and guidelines to direct future housing design and development.

#autism design #environment

I have learned the most working on spaces for autism because it is a reflection on how differently a person can react to an environment. The concept of “one size fits all” office space poses great issues, since we are not all the same. The children I work with who have autism see differently, hear differently, and process environmental stimuli differently. That can be true, to an extent, of all of us.

#environment #autism design

By studying underserved communities, the tech giant hopes to improve the user experience for everyone.

Tucked within FastCoDesign’s feature on Microsoft’s new inclusive design drive is a great little history of inclusive design:

A competing idea began to emerge in the 1970s, when Pat Moore arrived in New York, ready for her first job as a designer. She was fresh out of college, having landed a job with the great industrial designer Raymond Loewy...

...Moore’s first task was work with a Russian manufacturing company, to create the interior of a family car and then the interior of a hydrofoil. It depressed her, but not because of what she was doing. It was because of what she was seeing. She would ride the bus in Moscow, seeing elderly people struggling along the sidewalk as the young whizzed around them, flustered. She realized how often she’d seen the same thing in America.

The big test is to see if Microsoft follows through with the application of this inclusive approach in its coming products. It’s easy to create a framework and announce it at SXSW, much harder to apply it when business considerations start entering the conversation.

#inclusive design

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Design for Autism