A Comparative Study of the Effectiveness of the Biophilic Approach and Therapeutic Landscapes in Developing the Senses of Autistic Children

Abstract

With an increase in the number of children born with autism, their special sensory needs and perceptions have been highlighted in official and unofficial national and international statistics. Scholars have voiced concerns about training the special skills of affected children. According to research, interaction with nature and education in open spaces can be effective. Landscape therapy has been proposed as one of the most effective strategies for different human groups. Biophilic landscapes are among the branches of landscape therapy that offer strategies for landscape design to reduce anxiety, improve the spirit, and increase social relationships. Considering the problems of autistic children and their special needs, it is not clear if the strategies based on Biophilic landscapes might address their needs. The research seeks to understand whether the strategies of Biophilic landscapes have a positive effect on the education of autistic children with special needs. ? To answer the question, mixed-methods research was used and an exploratory approach was adopted to compare the educational strategies of autistic children and Biophilic landscape therapy. In this descriptive-analytical study, the specialized educational strategies for autistic children were compared with the strategies used for designing Biophilic landscapes and then shared strategies were extracted. Some of the strategies were used in real space, and children were exposed to them through an experiment. For this purpose, the sensory processing questionnaire was conducted before the experiment and after the experiment, and the children’s progress was assessed through the fourteen items. The results of the research indicate that the auditory, vestibular, tactile, and multi-sensory strategies and their integration with body position and movement (proprioception) and visual aspects have been significantly effective in terms of emotional processing, activity level, and emotional and social responses. However, the proposed strategies related to the visual and sensory-oral senses were not effective for autistic children, and their integration with sensory processing (e.g., physical endurance) and activity level influencing movement and sensory input affecting emotional responses were not useful. There were no big changes in the behavioral consequences of sensory processing or the response thresholds of children. This could be associated with children’s different sensory perceptions. However, concerning children’s daily performance in the sessions, it seems that increasing the number of sessions and adopting the above-mentioned strategies can have a positive effect on these senses as well. This study highlights the need for researchers to expand the therapeutic strategies and increase the exposure of children to landscapes