It has been proven that existing scientific literature regarding built environments in relation
to people with ASD and vice versa is scarce, and this is in spite of significant research activity carried out in relation with autism in recent years. This interest is due to the significant
increase in the number of cases diagnosed, meaning that prevalence studies produce much
greater ratios than the figures of 1 to 3 people in every 10,000 that were handled at the beginning of the 1990s and which were previously even lower. Recently it has been affirmed
that there is one child with ASD in every 110 born (CDC – Center for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2009). It is clear that the increase in numbers does not reflect (at least not exclusively) a real increase in the number of cases, but the expansion that the concept of autism
has undergone, stretching to that of autistic spectrum, and to health care and education
which allow for early diagnosis, with a greater awareness of the existence of the disorder
(Ahrentzen and Steele, 2009). In spite of this, figures reveal that it is a significant group of
the population, which requires attention from society. In our area of discipline this should
also be the case. In just a few years, architects have been made aware of how to draw up
plans without the so-called “architectural barriers” that limit accessibility for people with a
disability. However, under this concept of a barrier, we do not usually include those which
limit the use of the built environment for people with cognitive or mental disabilities. As
Baumers and Heylighten (2009, 2010) state, these people perceive space in a unique, different way, with the “mind’s eye”.
It is necessary to progress in research in this sense, analysing the architectural achievements
designed and built for people with ASD, checking how suitable they are for the particular
Recent Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorders - Volume II182
characteristics of this part of the population, even studying any defects they may have and
verifying the new contributions that can be made in them.
It would also be interesting to encourage field studies with specific interventions in the built
environment, even on a smaller scale, such as that of Magda Mostafa (2008), which allows us
to extract results that can be checked and verified on how certain activities improve, and to
what extent, the experience of the person with ASD in their built environment.
If, in general, the constant reflection upon the relationship between the person and space,
between the individual and their environment (built), is important for the discipline of architecture, we believe that the particularisation of this reflection for the dweller with autism
may be an interesting contribution for the discipline itself. In fact, researching about this adjustment and this link, between the architectural object and its aim - the person, is to reflect
upon architecture itself, which, like other arts and other disciplines such as Philosophy,grows upon rethinking.
Finally, we will conclude with a quote from Luis Fernández-Galiano, which allows us to situate the role of the architect, especially in the case of people who are to be found “within the
spectrum”:
“Dwelling is a difficult job. Like the profession of living, that of dwelling requires continual learning
and attention, demands meticulous, systematic effort, and claims an immeasurable investment of time
and energy. The nature with which the majority of people manage to carry out the complicated rituals
of the dwelling space is surprising. Just as happens in the case of language, expertise in use is acquired along with habit, which provides guidelines and domesticates gestures and voices via daily reiteration of movement and words. So, this tiring and habitual profession has both an obstacle and an
accomplice in the architect”
(quoted in Oyarzun, 2005)
It has been proven that existing scientific literature regarding built environments in relationto people with ASD and vice versa is scarce, and this is in spite of significant research activity carried out in relation with autism in recent years. This interest is due to the significantincrease in the number of cases diagnosed, meaning that prevalence studies produce muchgreater ratios than the figures of 1 to 3 people in every 10,000 that were handled at the beginning of the 1990s and which were previously even lower. Recently it has been affirmedthat there is one child with ASD in every 110 born (CDC – Center for Disease Control andPrevention, 2009). It is clear that the increase in numbers does not reflect (at least not exclusively) a real increase in the number of cases, but the expansion that the concept of autismhas undergone, stretching to that of autistic spectrum, and to health care and educationwhich allow for early diagnosis, with a greater awareness of the existence of the disorder(Ahrentzen and Steele, 2009). In spite of this, figures reveal that it is a significant group ofthe population, which requires attention from society. In our area of discipline this shouldalso be the case. In just a few years, architects have been made aware of how to draw upplans without the so-called “architectural barriers” that limit accessibility for people with adisability. However, under this concept of a barrier, we do not usually include those whichlimit the use of the built environment for people with cognitive or mental disabilities. AsBaumers and Heylighten (2009, 2010) state, these people perceive space in a unique, different way, with the “mind’s eye”.It is necessary to progress in research in this sense, analysing the architectural achievementsdesigned and built for people with ASD, checking how suitable they are for the particularRecent Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorders - Volume II182characteristics of this part of the population, even studying any defects they may have andverifying the new contributions that can be made in them.It would also be interesting to encourage field studies with specific interventions in the builtenvironment, even on a smaller scale, such as that of Magda Mostafa (2008), which allows usto extract results that can be checked and verified on how certain activities improve, and towhat extent, the experience of the person with ASD in their built environment.If, in general, the constant reflection upon the relationship between the person and space,between the individual and their environment (built), is important for the discipline of architecture, we believe that the particularisation of this reflection for the dweller with autismmay be an interesting contribution for the discipline itself. In fact, researching about this adjustment and this link, between the architectural object and its aim - the person, is to reflectเมื่อสถาปัตยกรรมเอง ซึ่ง ศิลปะอื่น ๆ และสาขาอื่น ๆ เช่นปรัชญา เติบโตเมื่อทบทวนกันในที่สุด เราจะสรุปกับใบเสนอราคาจาก Luis Fernández-Galiano ซึ่งช่วยให้เราแล้วบทบาทของสถาปนิก โดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่งในกรณีของคนที่มีอยู่ "ภายในการคลื่น":"มิใช่เป็นงานยาก เช่นอาชีพของชีวิต ที่อยู่อาศัยที่ต้องการการเรียนรู้อย่างต่อเนื่องและความสนใจ ความต้องการความพิถีพิถัน ระบบ และอ้างการลงทุนอย่างไร้ขีดจำกัดของเวลาและพลังงาน ธรรมชาติที่คนส่วนใหญ่จัดดำเนินพิธีกรรมซับซ้อนพื้นที่อยู่อาศัยน่าแปลกใจ เพียงขณะที่เกิดขึ้นในกรณีของภาษา ความเชี่ยวชาญในการใช้ซื้อมาพร้อมกับนิสัย ซึ่งมีแนวทาง และ domesticates ท่าทางและเสียงที่ผ่านวันเคลื่อนไหวและคำ ดัง นั้น อาชีพนี้เหนื่อย และเคยมีทั้งอุปสรรค และฉกในสถาปนิก" (ยก Oyarzun, 2005)
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