CHAPTER 4 INTERPRETING THE ARCHITECTURAL IMPLICATIONS OF AUSTICNEEDS
4.2 Sensory Integration
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individual curriculum developed for each child's specific behavioural needs. Whitman and DeWitt (2011) highlight that for ABA to be effective it is important to consider the role that the environment plays in the various behaviours experienced by children with ASD.
Numerous other therapies and treatment methods for various aspects of ASD have not been discussed. For example; to address specific communication difficulties, a speech pathologist may suggest sign language or the picture exchange communication system (PECS), a communication system where children express their needs or wants using pictures instead of words. For specific auditory problems a therapist may suggest auditory integration training. Medical interventions by physicians may be vitamin therapy or Ritalin (Herbert, 2003). However, as expressed in the delimitation of this research, to address all the treatments methods is beyond the scope of this dissertation, but it is important to know that these and others treatments do exist.
Amanda Tipkemper (2006, cited in Southerington, 2007) suggested that choosing one specific method as the focus for a centre for autism is unwise because each child has different needs and it is more effective to craft a specific program for each child based on their needs.
Thus, classrooms and teaching spaces should be able to adapt for different approaches, without compromising on the need for order (Scott, 2009).
Given the right care and management, sufferers of ASD can make tremendous progress towards an improved way of life (Beaver, 2010). An important aspect of this is the environment in which they live and learn. Young (2004, cited in Scott, 2009) explains that when teachers use the built environment as a teaching tool and adapt it to suit the specialised needs of individual children, improvements can be seen in the children's communication skills, social interactions and imaginations, leading them towards higher levels of independence and autonomy.
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A common characteristic of AD is difficulty with sensory processing and the inability to integrate and make sense of sensory experiences (Larkey, 2007). "There is enough evidence to suggest that sensory processing impairment is as central to autism as the impairments of social interaction, communication and imagination." (Larkey, 2007: 11) Thus, children with AD often display problems in "orienting responses, filtering incoming stimulation, habituating to stimulation, and processing and interpreting sensory information - particularly information that is complex and requires integration from multiple modalities."
(Whitman & DeWitt, 2011: 156-157)Sensory integration theory explores the deficits in interpreting sensory information and has three components; normal sensory integration functioning, sensory integrative dysfunction, and intervention programmes that use sensory integration techniques (Herbert, 2003).
4.2.1 Sensory Integrative Dysfunction
Paron-Wildes (2008) explains that children with AD, who experience difficulties with sensory integration, may experience a sensory deficit associated with one of their senses and experience no problems with their other senses. However, problems in one sensory modality often influence the functioning of other sensory modalities creating sensory dysfunction (Whitman & DeWitt, 2011). Harrison and Hare (2008) suggest that sensory integration dysfunction occurs in 70 to 80 percent of children with AD, while Baker (2008) claims that studies indicate that as many as 95 percent of people with AD display sensory difficulties.
An individual with AD may experience one, or more, of the following sensory related problems; hypersensitivity (over-stimulation), sensory overload, hyposensitivity (under- stimulation), sensory fixations, unusual sensory attractions and sensory tune-outs (Whitman
& DeWitt, 2011). One of the most common is hypersensitivity (Cascio, 2008). Sensory difficulties impact the way in which people with AD experience the built environment (Nguyen, 2011), everyday experiences, which neurotypical individuals take for granted, for individuals with AD are negative and upsetting experiences (Wilkes, 2005) accompanied by feelings of pain, anxiety, stress and fear (Wetherby & Prizant, 2000). Many individuals develop a range of behavioural excesses and coping strategies in order to avoid these negative sensory experiences (Larkey, 2007). Appendix C provides a comprehensive list of sensory difficulties and the related coping strategies.
40 4.2.2 Sensory Integration Techniques
According to Govender (cited in Simons, 2008), the primary goal of sensory integration therapy is to facilitate adaptive behaviour by providing appropriate, graded sensory experiences. Sensory integration techniques work with the senses calming or arousing the individual, bringing them to the optimum level of arousal for attending specific tasks (Herbert, 2003). The therapy involves gentle exposure to various stimuli (Wilkes, 2005) over a gradual period of time. The aim is to strengthen, balance and improve fine and gross motor skills, co-ordination, production of language, behaviour and other skills (Herbert, 2003; Wilkes, 2005).
Wilkinson (2010) explains that best practise guidelines indicate that programs for children with ASD should allow for an appropriately structured physical and sensory environment which accommodates their unique sensory processing patterns. Environmentally focused sensory integration techniques utilize simplified learning environments that are devoid of distractions which could divert a child's attention (Whitman & DeWitt, 2011). These simple and predictable environments provide children with a sense of comfort (Whitman & DeWitt, 2011) and can be gradually increased in complexity without causing too much stress or anxiety.
(Discussed in more detail in section 4.3) By slowly introducing sensory inputs, which a child finds overwhelming, a desensitization towards that stimulus develops (Larkey, 2007) allowing the child to act in a more adaptive manner (Wilkinson, 2010). In addition sensory rooms and gardens are used to stimulate, develop and balance the sensory systems of individuals with sensory problems (Refer to figure 4.6) and have shown great strides in the development of certain individuals (Beaver, 2010). These sensory rooms and gardens are structured according to sensory zones (Mostafa, 2008) because individuals with ASD find it difficult to focus on more than one sense at a time.
Children with sensory difficulties do not explore their environments in the same way as neurotypical children. Consequently, children with ASD have limited environmental experiences and are fearful of change (Larkey, 2007). Sensory programs encourage children
Figure 4-6 Sensory Room (Unknown Author2, 2009)
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with ASD to interact with their environment thus, reducing the fear associated with it (Larkey, 2007).
Sensory integration therapy is a child-directed, sensory enriched therapy that depends upon a specialised environment (Herbert, 2003). Designers have control over the physical and sensory environments; therefore, they play an important role in what sensory inputs people experience. Spaces that have too much stimulus on the walls, doors and furniture can create havoc in an autistic mind. Thus, designing low sensory-stimulus environments can reduce sensory overload, stress and anxiety(Scott, 2009), rather creating positive environments conducive to skill development and learning (Mostafa, 2008).