Local Cultures – Global Spaces

Abstract

The UK is approaching a social care crisis regarding older autistic people. Current residential care facility design often makes these buildings inaccessible to autistic people, negatively impacting their quality of life. Historically, autistic people have been excluded from autism research, with researchers using non-autistic ‘experts’ such as parents and carers as primary sources of information. This research suggests that the non-autistic decision makers involved in the design of residential care facilities do not have an accurate view of the architectural needs and preferences of autistic people. Furthermore, it argues that relying on non-autistic participants contributes to a medical model/deficit-based discourse regarding autistic building design needs. This research used a phenomenological grounded theory approach, with mixed methods data collection via a questionnaire undertaken by autistic (n=105) and non-autistic expert (n=41) participants. The research questions addressed autistic people’s needs and preferences within six architectural themes identified in an earlier pilot study, namely: Sensory Needs, Happiness and Well-Being, Health and Hygiene, Independence, Socialising, and Accessibility. There was a statistically significant difference between the autistic and non-autistic responses in 31.1% of the quantitative questions asked, including regarding whether autistic people would consider living in a communal living group. The results show that building design that aides executive function would have the greatest benefit, and that sensory accommodation and support from another person would have less of an impact than non-autistic people perceive. The results also show that an unsuitable living environment can be catastrophic for autistic people.