Designing Learning Environments for Children with Autism [e-mail] [e-mail]

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Designing Learning Environments for Children with
Autismt.brooks_at_worc.ac.uktamarab_at_sunfield.org.u
k
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Sunfield School

• Sunfield is a national UK charity specialising in
  the care of children with severe and complex
  learning needs and is recognised internationally
  for its work with children with Autistic Spectrum
  Disorders (ASDs).
• Sunfield offers 52 week residential care and
  education as well as provision for day students.

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The Research

• Developing a learning environment to support
  children with profound autism to engage as
  effective learners
• A research classroom was provided to observe 6
  students, 1 teacher and 3 teaching assistants
  (TAs) within their normal working classroom
  environment.

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The Research
The work room
The choice room
Observe Identify elements of the classroom
learning environment which require modification
in order to improve engagement in students with
ASDs. Plan Source modifications to improve
engagement. Act Trial modifications within the
classroom. Evaluate Assess the influence of
trialled modifications on student engagement.
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The Research Findings

• The research findings are being used to inform
  the design of the new school being built at
  Sunfield, which will be opening in May.

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1. Robustness of Chair Upholstery

• Classroom observations students biting through
  the chair fabric and ripping it off.
• Plan Source alternative fabrics.
• Action Trial alternative fabrics until a
  suitably robust fabric was found.
• Evaluation Finding a bite-proof fabric is
  difficult!
• Additional considerations colour, waterproof
  etc.

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2. Lighting

• Individuals with ASDs often experience an
  aversion to traditional fluorescent lighting -
  visual dysfunction - scotopic sensitivity (Irlen,
  1991).
• Fluorescent flicker affects their visual field
• Colour spectrum emitted produces unnatural light
• Lighting causes glare on surfaces
• Lights create an audible hum

• Classroom observations Students turning the
  lights off when stressed, flicking fingers in
  front of the lights, choosing to spend the
  majority of their time by the window, distracted
  by glare on work / furniture.

Action replace lights Traditional Fluorescent Lights Modern Daylight Fluorescent
Ballasts / Flicker / Hum Magnetic / Yes / Yes Electronic / No / No
Colour Spectrum Unnatural Natural
Louvers to prevent glare No Yes

• Evaluation All behaviours either reduced or
  eliminated.
• Additional Considerations robustness of light
  fitting, cost.

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3. Laminate

• A matt surface is preferable to glossy when
  increasing accessibility for individuals with
  visual impairments (RNIB, 1999).
• Classroom Observations Reflection from the
  lighting on the glossy laminate hindered the
  students ability to see their work, caused them
  to squint, and reduced their independence and
  engagement in activities as staff were frequently
  having to reposition work to reduce glare.
• Plan Source matt laminate to replace the glossy
  laminate.
• Action Trial matt laminate.
• Evaluation With the matt laminate, glare is no
  longer causing reflections on the students work,
  and students are looking and engaging better in
  activities.
• Additional Considerations Cost.

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4. Furniture - Group Table

• Classroom Observations Colour, Shape, Finish and
  Weight of furniture can impact on student
  engagement.
• Plan Design bespoke furniture to meet the needs
  of the students.
• Action Trial bespoke furniture.
• Evaluation New furniture prompted a vast
  improvement in student engagement.

Old Table New Table
Colour Dark Brown Pale Grey
Shape Rectangular Curvilinear (Whitehurst, 2006)
Finish Glossy Matt (RNIB, 1999)
Weight Light Heavy
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5. Furniture -Work Stations
Old Work Station New Work Station
Composition Mismatched cluttered furniture, screens Self-contained all-in-one design
Colour Mixed Pale grey
Shape Angular Curvilinear
Finish Mixed Matt
Weight Light Heavy
Additional considerations Individual need, cost.
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6. School Chairs

• Classroom Observations students frequently
  rocked back on their chairs during classroom
  activities - a major distraction and a health and
  safety risk since they often tipped back so far
  they fell off!
• Plan Alternative class chairs sourced which
  claimed to actively prevent children from
  leaning back and also improve posture.
• Action A selection of class chairs trialled
  until a suitable chair was found.
• Evaluation Anti-tilt chairs prevented rocking
  and improved student engagement.
• Additional considerations Colour, Robustness.

Titan Chair
Polypropylene stackable chair
Max Chair
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7. Rocking Chairs

• Rocking is an important self-regulatory sensory
  vestibular system activity for many individuals
  with ASDs (Biel Peske, 2005)
• Classroom Observations Students enjoy rocking
  and use it as a calming mechanism.
• Plan It is important to provide the students
  with a suitable opportunity for obtaining this
  stimulation, and thus a suitable rocking chair
  must be found.
• Action A selection of rocking chairs were
  trialled to find one which met the students
  needs.
• Evaluation The students successfully used the
  Lchair during choice time for relaxation,
  calming, exercise and fun.
• Additional considerations Design, Composition,
  Safety, Material

IKEA Rocking Chair
Gaiam Balance Ball Chair
Lchair
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8. Flooring

• Many with ASDs experience sensory processing
  difficulties -hyper/hypo sensitivity to the
  environment (Bogdashina, 2003).
• Auditory sensitivity can cause background noises
  such as echos and footsteps to be a distraction
  and annoyance to those on the autistic spectrum,
  impeding their ability to engage in learning.
• Classroom observations the lino flooring caused
  lots of background noise - footsteps, echoes and
  chair legs scraping.
• Plan Alternative floorings sourced - Flotex, a
  robust and sound insulating carpet-style flooring
  (Whitehurst, 2006) and Chocflex cushioned
  vinyl.
• Action Trial alternative floorings.
• Evaluation Flotex successfully reduced
  background noise, however there were concerns
  about cleaning and the carpet pattern. Chocflex,
  was easier to clean, however it did not have the
  sound insulating quality of the Flotex.
• Additional considerations cleaning/hygiene,
  pattern, robustness

Lino Flooring
Flotex
Chocflex
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9. Interactive Whiteboard

• Classroom observations students showed the
  lowest levels of engagement during group work.
• Plan Find a resource to improve engagement
  during group work
• Research has shown that interactive whiteboards
  are beneficial for improving the engagement and
  learning of students with special educational
  needs (Clark Nordness, 2007 Helms-Breazeale
  Blanton, 2000 Salinitri, Smith, Clovis, 2002),
  including physical disabilities (Speight
  Slater, 2006), ADHD (Jamerson, 2002) and autism
  (Wilcox Flaherty, 2007).
• Action Interactive Whiteboard installed in the
  classroom.
• Evaluation Some students responded positively to
  the IWB, showing greatly improved engagement
  during group activities, however others had
  difficulty understanding what was expected, and
  how to work the board around their shadows.
• Additional considerations shadowing, robustness,
  cost - plasma screen, back-lit and sharp angle
  projectors are being considered

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In Conclusion

• There are various themes which recur when
  designing environments for individuals with
  autistic spectrum disorders
• Robustness (chair material, lighting, furniture,
  school chairs, rocking chairs, flooring, IWB)
• Colour / Pattern (chair material, furniture,
  school chairs, rocking chairs, flooring)
• Shape / Design (furniture, school chairs, rocking
  chairs)
• Finish (laminate, furniture)
• Hygiene (chair material, rocking chairs,
  flooring)
• Composition (furniture, school chair, rocking
  chair)
• Safety (furniture, school chairs, rocking chairs)
• Lighting / shadowing (lighting, laminate, IWB)
• Individual Need (work stations, rocking chairs)
• Cost (lighting, laminate, furniture, IWB,
  everything to an extent!)