A Designer’s Approach: Exploring how Autistic Adults with Additional Learning Disabilities Experience their Home Environment

Autistic adults with limited speech and additional learning disabilities are people whose perceptions and interactions with their environment are unique, but whose experiences are under-explored in design research. This PhD by Practice investigates how people with autism experience their home environment through a collaboration with the autism charity Kingwood Trust, which gave the designer extensive access to a community of autistic adults that it supports. The PhD reflects upon a neurotypical designer’s approach to working with autistic adults to investigate their relationship with the environment. It identifies and develops collaborative design tools for autistic adults, their support staff and family members to be involved. The PhD presents three design studies that explore a person’s interaction with three environmental contexts of the home i.e. garden, everyday objects and interiors. A strengths-based rather than a deficit-based approach is adopted which draws upon an autistic person’s sensory preferences, special interests and action capabilities, to unravel what discomfort and delight might mean for an autistic person; this approach is translated into three design solutions to enhance their experience at home. By working beyond the boundaries of a neurotypical culture, the PhD bridges the autistic and neurotypical worlds of experience and draws upon what the mainstream design field can learn from designing with autistic people with additional learning disabilities. It also provides insights into the subjective experiences of people who have very different ways of seeing, doing and being in the environmen

Design and wellbeing: Bridging the empathy gap between neurotypical designers and autistic adults

This paper is focused on the wellbeing of people with autism spectrum disorders, who are often excluded from design research. Drawing upon on-going design research collaboration between The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design and the autism charity The Kingwood Trust, this paper reflects upon a neurotypical (i.e. not on the autism spectrum) designer’s experience of working with adults with autism who have limited verbal speech and additional learning disabilities. The hypothesis under investigation is that, by interacting with and observing a person in conjunction with his or her physical environment, the designer can unravel clues and insights to develop empathy and better understanding of a person with autism’s everyday experiences, which can thereby inform empathic designs that enhance and sustain a state of wellbeing. The conclusion explores how the inclusion of autistic people within the design process creates a shared experience, which helps to develop trust and empathy between the designer and the person with autism, enabling the designer to understand and appreciate different ways of being in the world

A designer's approach: How can autistic adults with learning disabilities be involved in the design process?

Autistic adults with limited speech and additional learning disabilities who are often excluded from design research are at the heart of this project. These are people whose perceptions, experiences and interactions with their surroundings are unique, but also are people who may not be able to communicate verbally their differences to the remaining 99% of the population. This, in combination with their distinctive cognitive profile, has resulted in a lack of studies involving people living with autism, and consequently their life experiences may neither be heard nor understood and remain largely unexplored. By reflecting upon the ongoing design collaboration between The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design and the autism charity The Kingwood Trust, this paper reflects on the approach and methods used in three design studies. Particular attention is paid towards the careful selection, adaptation and development of collaborative design methods for autistic adults and their support staff to be involved. By working beyond the boundaries of a neurotypical culture, the project aims to support the greater goal of improving the everyday experiences of people living with autism by breaking down the barriers to participation

Sensory enrichment for people living with dementia: increasing the benefits of multisensory environments in dementia care through design

Recent research has investigated the impact of design on providing multisensory experience for people with dementia living in care homes, particularly the quality of multisensory environments (MSEs). This interdisciplinary research evolved from a broad consideration of the role of design in dementia care enhancing the wellbeing of people living with dementia and their carers. Previous research suggests that using MSE in dementia care as a resource for meaningful engagement has beneficial effects and many MSEs have been installed in UK care homes. However, evidence indicates that these spaces often fail to benefit the residents causing staff becoming discouraged and subsequently the room becoming unused. A study investigating the current facilitation of MSE in sixteen UK care homes revealed two key issues: (1) set-up and design of existing MSEs in care environments is, in most cases, not suitable for older people; (2) there is a lack of knowledge and information for care practitioners for facilitating sensory activities and environments. Based on these findings, design criteria improving usability and accessibility for people with dementia were established and user-centred design recommendations developed. As a first step towards closing the knowledge gap amongst healthcare practitioners in providing multisensory experience, initial design guidelines were published as an online resource

The development of textile props for the multi-sensory environment to encourage touch, movement and play

The Snoezelen or Multi-Sensory Environment (MSE) is a unique concept that was developed in response to the limited range of relaxation and leisure activities available for children and adults with sensory processing difficulties, such as autism spectrum condition and Alzheimer’s disease. The environment is furnished with the sensory props, designed to stimulate the primary senses, which are fundamental to the Snoezelen® experience. Based on the author’s own subjective experience of working in an MSE, this MPhil by practice combines historical research into the evolution of the design of the MSE with an experiential account of current practice. The research suggests that the future of the MSE needs to include textile designers if it is to be fully multi-sensory. The research is interdisciplinary, integrating ideas from occupational therapists, educationalists, designers, architects and new media artists, who have explored the areas of sensory stimulation, environmental wellbeing, leisure and play. This interdisciplinary approach is used to generate the knowledge which informs and guides the author’s textile practice, bringing her experience of working in MSE’s to inform her approach to the theory and philosophy of multi-sensory play environments. The research aims to inform health care practitioners of the important role that sensory design plays in the education of people with sensory processing difficulties, positively maximizing an individual’s experience. The author offers a series of design outcomes developed through her textile practice, and asks whether the design of the MSE can benefit a wider user group, and expand into the design concepts for work, play and domestic environments for those both with and without sensory processing difficulties

Moments of disengagement: Learning from our mistakes

Engagement is never perfect, and this workshop is all about learning from our mistakes! We will share case studies from our own archive of engagement. These will be used to explore when things haven’t worked and why. Participants are invited to discuss shortcomings and ideas for improvements and explore what successful research engagement means to them

Engagements2 as ‘HCI Material’: Propagating community agency, through embedded technologies

HCI has material attributes. As a sociotechnical assemblage, HCI mediates and/or translates technologies to public(s) and vice versa. It is malleable, ‘made’ and crafted and as a material media technology changes our relationships to ‘things’, each other and our surrounding world. Thinking through HCI as material allows us to unite disciplines with technologies, ensuring that how we conceptualise work is tangible and applicable. Working from this understanding of HCI, allows the authors to contextualise Engagements 2 as an emerging ‘material’ space uniting art, design and other practices often fractured through disciplinary conventions. Traditionally, public engagement encompasses ways organisations engage with external parties. HCI contemporaries, Public Interest Technologies (PITs) empower public stakeholders and municipalities. PITs unravel intractable problems, through design, data, and delivery, thus providing user agency and yields wider societal benefit(s). We question how digital technologies can transition ‘public(s)’, to sustainable approaches. In time, Engagements 2 will be commonplace as technologies (PITs, augmented reality, IoT sensing and more) are embedded into public environment(s) if engagement can be defined as a ‘craft-able’, material concern. The article unites contemporaries in the public realm, social design, and public engagement methods to identify the: pitfalls, benefits, and opportunities. There is a need for creating a ‘best practice’ roadmap to creative, active engagement. These values go well beyond designing for inclusion and seek for more sustainable and integral interactions, impacts and culture creation

An Expert Discussion on Strengths-Based Approaches in Autism

Historically autism research and practice has been deficit focused. Only in recent years have we seen a shift away from deficit-based approaches toward strengths-based approaches. Current literature now includes work exploring and using strengths-based approaches in autism in a variety of clinical and research contexts. For example, clinical guidance for autism diagnostic assessments recommends using a strengths-focused approach to ensure that the strengths, skills, and interests of the individual are recognized.1 Research has explored the use of strength-based language by multidisciplinary clinicians in autism diagnostic reports,2 the use of strengths-based interventions to support young autistic adults prepare for leaving school,3 and called for new strength-based models for aging well on the autism spectrum.