The Autism Friendly Environment
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An autism Friendly Environment
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In this presentation we will look at some practical and easy steps you can take to create an autism friendly environment to facilitate better communication.
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People with autism face challenges from the sensory environment that surrounds them.
The “sensory load” that confronts them can often overpower their ability to cope with it.
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We all filter sensory stimuli using our five senses.
These are……
Sight
Hearing
Taste
Touch
And smell
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As we have seen in other presentations many people with autism face challenges in processing this sensory stimuli
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Exposure to too much sensory stimuli can overpower one or all of these senses and can affect a child or person with autism’s ability to interact and communicate with other people
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Let’s look at some practical steps you can take to create an autism friendly environment to aid interaction and communication
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So let’s look at how reducing noise can help
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Many people with autism are sensitive to noise and many find it difficult to filter noises.
So a “Quiet Place or Space” really helps.
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Choose a quiet area in your home, office of shop away from other people and noise.
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Turn off or remove any items that will create noise or background noise…
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Close doors and windows if there is outside noise..
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Now let’s look at light..
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If possible turn off artificial light or any other bright lights.
Sit the person facing away from direct sunlight.
Close window blinds if necessary
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Let’s look at the area of smell
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Check the immediate environment for any items that may emit a strong smell and remove them…
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Also keep the number of people and voices in the immediate environment to a minimum..
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The objective is to create a sensory neutral environment to facilitate interaction and communication
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Reducing the person’s sensory load will help them to:
Relax and de-stress
Re-engage with others
Communicate more effectively
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Always look for signs of anxiety or stress throughout the interaction and suggest a break if you feel that the person is becoming overwhelmed by the interaction or their environment.
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Then.. give the person some space as this may involve some ritualistic behaviours including stimming (self-stimulation), or repetitive movements, sounds or movement of objects.
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When the person feels ready they will re-engage in the interaction…
