An Architecture for Autism: Built Environment Performance in Accordance to the Autism ASPECTSS™ Design Index

Abstract It is estimated that 1 in every 100 (Bancroft, K., Batten, A., Lambert, S., Madders, T. 2012) to 1 in every 68 individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014) fall within the spectrum of autism disorder in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively. This places autism among the most prevalent of special needs in school children, as compared with the visually impaired, physically impaired, hearing impaired (LeRoy, B., Evans, P., and Deluca, M. 2000), and those diagnosed with Down's syndrome (Shin, M., Besser, L. M., Kucik, J. E., Lu, C., Siffel, C., Correa, A. et al. 2009). Despite these startling numbers, autism remains underrepresented in built environment research and inclusion literature and minimally discussed in accessibility codes and design guidelines (Mostafa, M. 2008). The Autism ASPECTSS Design Index was developed specifically to address this gap. The index is based on the sensory design theory, which hypothesizes that by altering the sensory environment using specific design interventions, as manifested through input from the built environment, autistic behavior can be altered positively (Mostafa, M. 2008). The index summarizes the seven design criteria conclusively recommended to facilitate and improve the user-built environment relationship for autistic individuals. These criteria are acoustics, spatial sequencing, escape space, compartmentalization, transition spaces, sensory zoning, and safety. The applications of the index include assessment of built environments, identification of autism inclusion performance issues, and consequent proposal of retrofit design solutions, as well as the development of new customized inclusive environments for autism. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the use of the index as an assessment tool for existing built environments and to explore its correlation with design performance, as perceived by the designers, users, and critics of the building. Using five purpose-built autism schools as case studies, the alignment of perceived excellence in autism design and the respective Autism ASPECTSS Index score is assessed.