Project Reserch

Interviewees: B

Position: Early Childhood Special Education Specialist/ Lead teacher&Service coordinator for 3-5 years old with ASD

Job responsibility: Teaching young children with autism who do not speak to learn how to use school space

Location: Eugene

Chang: Do you agree the architecture space is really important for Autistic Children?

B: Very much so.

Chang: Have you made adjustments to your own environments (home, class, office, therapy space) to make it more effective for the autistic user?

B: Yes, we have a lot of changes to how to set up furniture inside the classroom. Two things: we want to be able to see(children) really well in all areas. We also want to control the flows so there are not a lot of open spaces. Because open space in a classroom is very hard to get students to sit down and learn. So we really careful about the furniture layout to make sure there are different small spaces for children to learn but one bigger space for us together.

Chang: Can you give me one type of furniture that you think is super helpful?

B: All of our furniture is child size. In the “work with teacher” areas, we use dividers, when children are in the work areas they don't see running around children.

Chang: The height of the dividers? Is that tall enough to block children's view but not teachers?

B: Right, the dividers are over children's eye level when they are sitting down.

Chang: Are all those dividers movable?

B: Yes moveable, but still to ensure the stability of the partition, so the child running around will not push it down. We always have to think about whether the child will climb and push over when we use the furniture.

Chang: Is there will be a small space provided in the classroom for children to calm down?

B: Yes we call it “the break area”, in that area we have bean bags and blankets. Pinwheel that they can blow

Chang: What about the size of the break room?

B: Pretty small, one kid at the time. Probebaly 5 feet by 4 feet total.

Chang: There are many kinds of children with autism, some will be sensitive to their surroundings but some not, how do you balance their varying preferences and needs for space?

B: We were always careful with the lighting, the classroom I was in was very much a light source and I always had to avoid the space being too bright. For example, if one child in the classroom suddenly feels sad and cries, the other children will be affected and frustrated. At this time, I dim the lights and play quiet music so that the children can relax.

Chang: What's the your favorite space you every seen for autistic children?

B: It is a new classroom with better room temperature regulation and more flexible regulation of room lights. The walls are neat and tidy, with no hanging decorations. The shelves are covered up so as to avoid excessive visual distractions. All interior colors are natural colors, such as green and blue. In addition, it is important to have a bathroom that can be accessed directly from the classroom and an outdoor space adjacent to the classroom. Ideally, there should be a lot of natural light.

Chang: Because you mentioned a lot of organic and natural elements, do you think it would be helpful adding houseplants indoors?

B: Yes, the greenery that we have in our space now is easy to grow. I think the thing to note about finding the right greenery for an autistic child's space is that it's good to keep and safe for children. Ideally, having lots of greenery would be great!

Chang: The last question is about the staff, what would you like to have in your office?

B: Everyone has different preferences, and for me, I don't mind the size of the classroom. My current office is great, it's close to the classroom and has a viewing window to see the classroom. This allows me to hear the classroom and see what's going on inside while I'm in the office. So I know if I'm going to help in the classroom.

Chang: If it is close to the classroom then it means there will be noise, do you mind it?

B: Because I am the lead teacher, I can leave the office and go to the conference room if I feel noisy. But I want to be able to hear what is going on in the classroom at all times so I can be aware of what is going on in the classroom.

Chang: So your office has one window looking out to the view and one window looking into the classroom, right?

B: Yes.

Chang: Do you have anything else want to share?

B: Yes, the sensory classroom. We have a 15 by 15 sensory room connected to the classroom and separated by a door. Here we have different kinds of swings and some soft pods to climb on. This classroom can be used both to relax children like the break area mentioned before and also to use this space to exercise children's sensory skills and make them more tolerant of the complex environment around them. Because autistic children need to squeeze something and swing to get their bodies back into a regular routine.

Chang: Will parents pick up their children from school at the classroom door? Or will they pick them up at the school's outdoor entrance?

B: Before the outbreak, they would come into the building to pick up the children at the classroom door. But now they need to stand outside the door and wait. Before the outbreak, I would show parents when they picked up their children what they had done at school today so they could see the environment in which their children were attending. And after the outbreak picking up and dropping them off at the front door made the child more reluctant to leave their parents and the child would feel more comfortable if the parent could drop them off and hug them.

Chang: It looks like it would be helpful to have a transition corridor in between the interior and exterior.

B: Yes sure!

Interviewees: H

Position: A Chinese mother of children with autism

Location: Melbourne

Chang: What does your child's daily schedule look like?

Helen: She starts school at 8:45 every day, but I will drop my child off at 8:30 (because she takes longer to adjust), and then at 3:00 p.m. she will leave school a little earlier than the other kids.

Chang: What facilities does the school have to help children adapt and relax well?

H: The teacher would take the children to the playground every day before the class started to play, such as swinging and climbing frames, etc. Since her language skills are weak, she has a tutor who follows her all the time (shadow teacher: follows her all day long). The outdoor space helps the child to relax.

Chang: Does the child get along well with the other children in the class?

Helen: Some children with autism like to interact with other children, but my daughter is the type that is more distant and less motivated to interact with others. From our perspective as parents, some people may feel that your child is sad that he or she doesn't have children to play with. But on the contrary, the child who is upset is the one who is rejected. The involvement of other children can break the rules of play for children with autism. So at parent-teacher conferences, I have to explain to the moms that my daughter doesn't dislike other children. She doesn't like or dislike anyone, she just doesn't realize what friendship is for a while or hasn't developed the idea of making friends for a while.

Of course, the school has been very deliberate in putting her together with other children to play games, but she doesn't obviously like or dislike this. She is a low-needs type of child who is not particularly sensitive to stimuli around her.

At first, I didn't know much about autistic children, and I took my daughter on trips, but it didn't do anything for her. Environmental changes had no effect on her. She didn't feel any difference. So it was very easy for me to take care of my baby.

Chang: What adjustments have you made to your home environment to make it more child-friendly?

H: The most important thing is that the house is neat and clean, such as bedrooms, clothes, etc. are clearly separated. We have a big room for her to play in and another room for her to study. This makes the sense of spatial boundaries clearer and makes her aware that different spaces require different activities so that at school the child will develop the habit of sitting at her desk while studying. If we move, I will add a cabin in the backyard for the child, zoning is important.

Chang: I see you take your child to many parks, is there a public space that she particularly likes? Can you describe it specifically?

H: She really likes to climb. We are fortunate that many children with autism have perceptual deficits, such as not being able to tell height from height and falling over easily. But my daughter's motor skills are in line with nonautistic children, so she doesn't need to learn to play on a scooter, and she can use it very quickly. She prefers the feeling of being high.

I have an autistic kid I know whose parents bought climbing mats to set up in the room, and a full complement of protective gymnastics mats, which are very cool. If you're designing a school, these things are much needed.

I was just playing ping pong with my daughter and then realized she wasn't even watching the ball. So I used a table and ping pong balls to work on her attention span, and these simple routines are very helpful for a child's development. I am an autism therapist myself, and all the children I train with autism have to be trained to shoot the ball.

Chang: Have you seen a significant improvement in her concentration during these trainings?

H: Because she doesn't look at the ball, it runs. I made it a rule that she had to catch all ten before she could "get out of class" and then gradually increased it to twenty. On the surface, it looks like the child can catch more, but it means that the child's concentration goes from five seconds to ten seconds, and even to twenty seconds.

With this kind of training, you can notice a significant improvement in all their learning abilities. Because children with autism lack Join Attaintion, for example, I'm telling you the same thing right now, children with autism don't have Join Attaintion with other people. That's why they have a hard time interacting with other children, and while others are talking about one topic, children with autism are thinking about something else. In the long run they don't fit into the group, which is why they need to be trained in two-way movement/group movement. This training helps them develop the underlying logic that they should listen carefully to what others are saying. On the other hand, it is also very important to improve their concentration. Establishing these two aspects can help them integrate better into society and live independently.

Chang: The remaining questions are about your insights as a mother of an immigrant child with autism who has settled overseas. Do you feel and have the will to integrate into the local community?

H: Of course, it's very important. The school I found for my child is a private school with all local people, so things are different from what the Chinese are used to. Especially for vulnerable people like her, I helped my child build her network. My child may not care about events like birthday parties, but I do take her to them because I need to build rapport with other parents. The organizer of the last parent-teacher conference was very good at communicating with me, so I got a lot of inside information about the school, so I could know earlier what was going to happen at the school and help my daughter prepare in advance. Fortunately, my English is very good, whereas immigrant parents who do not speak English well would not be able to communicate with other parents in this way.

Chang: Do you belong to any local organizations for children with autism? Whether it's in Chinese or English?

H: I have organized a group chat for Chinese children with autism on WeChat, which includes Chinese mothers of autistic children from all over the world. My daughter's teacher is also in the group and can answer parents' questions. There are some better teachers, and I organize talks for parents. We all share our experiences together in the group.

The most important thing is that many parents of autistic children have depression, and in this group chat we can empathize and understand each other. We share our stress and anxiety with each other.

We also have another group called "Play Together". But this group is not only for children with autism but also for other children. The purpose of this group is to serve as a link to promote interaction and friendship between children and children.

Chang: Do you think if put this online format into real life, which means it becomes an actual event venue, then do you think these immigrant moms overseas would like it? Because I know Asian cultures are more introverted, which means that some moms are reluctant to communicate about their children in public. What do you think about that?

H: It depends on the personality of the parents because I know some parents who are very willing to meet with me privately, but they are not willing to go to any multi-person gatherings. Because some autistic children have milder conditions, it's not obvious that the child has autism if they don't emphasize it. So they are reluctant to admit it, or for anyone to say that the child has autism. But I can be pretty sure that every parent of an autistic child wants to be recognized and understood, even if they disguise themselves, but they must need to find an emotional outlet.

Chang: So if there was a space like this, with a collection of cafes, psychotherapy clinics, and public events, that would mean that it wasn't just for families with autism to participate. Would this be protection for parents of children with autism and make them feel more secure?

H: On the other hand, if you are a professional organization, they will not be excluded. On the contrary, if it's a place like a gathering of friends, then some parents may not want to join.

Chang: I was thinking of something like a painting exhibition where parents could bring their children and help them make more friends.

H: I would really like to have this kind of space because these parents really need someone to talk to who can relate to them.

Chang: If there was a space like this, with a collection of cafes, psychotherapy clinics, and public events, that would mean that it wasn't just for families with autism to participate. Would this be a protection for parents of children with autism and make them feel more secure?

H: On the other hand, if you are a professional organization, they will not be excluded. On the contrary, if it's a place like a gathering of friends, then some parents may not want to join. For example, some children with autism will eat indiscriminately, and if it looks like other parents are not watching their children, they may feel that the parents are not watching their children. But the reality is that these children with autism are very difficult to teach. This situation seems very understandable to parents of children with autism.

After talking to parents of children with autism who have experienced the same thing, these parents feel understood and relaxed. There are so few people paying attention to this field, and we as parents would like to see more attention paid to the study of children with autism.

Interviewees: M https://earlychildhoodcares.uoregon.edu/maiko-hata/

Position: Equity-minded Early Intervention Specialist at Early Childhood CARES, University of Oregon, with experience in Autism/Bilingualism. Co-Founder/Initial Chair, TESOL Supporting Students with Disabilities Interest Section.

Job responsibility: Teaching young children with autism who do not speak to learn how to use school space

Location: Eugene

Chang: Do you think the environment in which children with autism live helps a lot in their treatment and healthy development?

Bekah: Yes, it can be.

Chang: I heard that you said you have been helping the disabled children and also have experience at school as a teacher, have you made any adjustments to your teaching space?

M: As a teacher, we do adjustments all the time, you know 5 senses, right? So like how can we reduce the amount of sensory input that's coming in Kokitos on ourselves. So that we can stay regulated and focused. Why is the Site like what you see right? For example lighting, teachers often use a cover for the light. I really like the teacher turning the lighting cover on and off, the harsh light can irritate children.

The crossword cards and stickers on the walls of most schools are very stressful and distracting for children with autism.

I don't actually do teaching, I spend most of my time training teachers and staff for children with autism. Another thing is when we want to Promote communication if there are too many toys It's distracting. Like I work with families, to reduce the toys first. For example, this is my favorite toy for children (a toy in a plastic box with a lid), because the child does not have direct access to the toy. So if they want to use the toy, then the process is the child, the teacher, and then the toy. They need to ask the teacher for a toy to play with.

We modify the environment so that some of the kids really get comforted by different activities. Often times we had a big cushion or a quiet place, a trampoline place can be active, or areas with water or sand that they can play with because that's very soothing. So that was a little more tactile like touching senses.

Additionally, I tried to minimize the noise, ecause too much noise can make children anxious and disturbed. Oppositely, we will use sound as a signal transitions. For example, okay this is al ldone, now we're going to do something else. Like sand timer.

Smell is important, it can be too smelly but most of the teachers or families who don't notice it back because they don't have autistic characteristics. So we tried to reduce the smell.

Chang: I agree that it is very important to provide different spaces for children to move around. In a previous interview I heard a teacher of children with autism mention that the school would include a "break room". Can you describe a break room that is successfully designed and enjoyed by the children?

M : It is important that we do not assume that children will understand straight away that they need to break space when they are frustrated, we need to do a lot of repetition to get them to develop this pattern of behavior.

If you Google Break box, there will be a lot of similar furniture that comes up.

Chang: Of course, I saw a lot of boxes that could be moved and small spaces under bookcases. I wonder which one is the kids' favorite?

M: A large room, break space will also be relatively large. Small space of course with the break space will also be smaller. Some times break space is not even a separate space, but composed of some deviders.

Chang: You must spend a lot of time in the office every day, do you have some ideas for improving your office space?

M: I like to have spaces where I can easily communicate with the teachers so that I can always talk to them about my child's emergencies. It's like being able to have random conversations with other teachers.

Chang: I know that children with autism are like a spectrum and that each child has different characteristics and circumstances.I would like to know what kind of space would help teachers to better pacify most of their students and save their own energy.

M : Before designing, I think you have to put the child's needs first and provide a high degree of flexibility for the space. Because it would be very helpful if the whole design had very distinct zoning. Because the child's behavior management needs to be considered and designed in advance to avoid a lot of anxiety for the child, which means the situation can become unmanageable. So it is very important how we can fix the area and order of the child's daily activities to ensure that the child's mood is stabilized.

Chang: Is there a difference between a normal school bathroom and a bathroom for children with autism?

M: Many schools, both kinds of children. That's why it's important to design a bathroom that works for all children. The size of the bathroom needs to match the classroom space.

In most cases, the teacher and the child will not use one bathroom.

In most cases, the classroom will be very close to the bathroom, and some classrooms will have bathrooms attached.

Interviewees: MB https://earlychildhoodcares.uoregon.edu/maiko-hata/

Position: Child Care

Job responsibility: Watched on average two to eight children at a time, ages ranging from six weeks to eleven years old.

Location: Eugene

Chang: Are spaces have very therapeutic and influential for children with autism

MB: Yes. Like a very calming environment focus a lot on the flow in the room I kind of think of it a lot of like Fun Shui. You want things to not be cluttered you want to have only what you really need in front of you. So it's not overwhelming you have good colors, you don't have overwhelming colors. A lot of the time the rooms are white. For example, my classroom is inside of the University, in the clinical service building. What I like is that we have a lot of windows so it's open and it's calming for kids. The break space is close to the natural space, there is soft seating and there's a nice big window and we have water that comes out from the gutter. Because it's raining all the time in Oregon, kids really like just watching it. And we have a lot of toys, that are water toys that do the same thing. It’s nice when they sit down and something already calming them down and stimulating them.

Chang: Children all have different senses, which one is the most influential? For example, which is greater for the child, visual or auditory stimulation?

MB : For the visual, we want to avoid fluorescent lighting and choose more close to the natural light of the soft light. For sound, we will prepare headphones for children to isolate the noise. We have a lot of sensory room, you can close the door to let the child calm down. Chang: So do you think it would be helpful if designers could provide a lot of flexibility in the space?

MB : Yeah I think having different rooms that do different things. As you know, maybe just open Windows or at least be aware. If you can I think working with light and working with the sound will help a lot.

Chang: I know like at the beginning the classroom is not that perfect, do you make any adjustment to your own environment your office even your classroom?

MB : Now I need to work with my colleagues to design and rearrange the classrooms. The classroom had a plastic devider that could be moved around, which I really hated. These plastic screens can help to partition the space to some extent, but at the same time they are very dangerous for the children to move around. And they are very ugly and take up a lot of space. We often had to move these plastic screens around, and finally one day I suggested, why don't we just throw these eyesores out? Then I combined the two long bookcases in the classroom back-to-back so that they formed a wall. On one side were the papers the teacher would use and on the other side were the children's books. This served the the same purpose My colleague commented that separating the space with bookshelves in this way made me feel very free and relaxed.

Chang: Is enscape space(break space)important? Can you please discribe a successful enscape space you have ever seen?

MB: Yeah so we have one big room which has like a little closed off. And it has a swing and it's a sensory nice room. I think the only thing that could be better about it is that we don't have natural light so I think a lot of times we don't really turn off the lights. So it is very very dark. I feel like there needs to be some natural calm. Additionaly, we have another area that's a break area it's in the corner by the window or they can look outside they can see the water. They can sit in the beanbag It is very helpful if the child can be close to nature while being in a private space.

I work somewhere else where they had a cardboard box which kids can sitting inside. It is easy to organize and put it away. I was just in my head and visioning what would a perfect enscape space will be look like. And I feel like it would be nice if the space is almost built into the wall.So the whole space is very flexible.

Chang: Do you have a particular favorite space for children with autism? Can you describe it?

MB: So I'm from Germany. I really noticed this is something I've noticed for a long time and I really wish America would just kind of get on it. In Germany the outdoor playgrounds are huge and they're friendly, inviting even though the adults want to go play. When I think of like in Germany just a how incorporating the outdoors like kids with autism

The reason why they have these sensory needs like visual Is that outdoor light is better. Kids will calm down after coming in from outside play.

When I am looking at the indoor setup. There's this one kindergarten that I thought was awesome which I have you I haven't been to in a long time but I visited and I remember thinking like, Wowed. They have a great indoor gym, for kids to get their energy out. They also have a big book nook, circular with widows. And had a bunch of pillows and it was rugs in a very calm environment. I think what I like is everything permanent maybe everything was pretty light. Not movable, stable. Because everything and a lot of the classrooms I see like like I said one classroom had a cardboard box. That's like not safe.

Chang: Spaces for children with autism require great attention to the furniture used and the materials, can you talk about it?

MB: All children are very different, so the materials are different. Good materials are usually weighted, and weighted furniture and materials will make children feel secure.

Chang: How about lighting?

MB: We will try to avoid overly bright environments, natural light is the best, followed by soft light.

Chang: For the school space where you work, are there any aspects that are not conducive to your child's development?

MB: Too much space high up will make the whole environment look more open, but it will also create echoes. And it is a waste of space because we don't know what to do with the high space. We would prefer a short, flat space to a high, narrow space.

There is also the fact that two classrooms share a toilet. The school does not have a separate bathroom for adults and every time a teacher goes to the bathroom they have to lock both classroom doors into the bathroom at the same time, which makes me think that this design is very disrespectful to the users.

There were so many things hanging on the walls of the classroom that it even made me feel very distracted. Not to mention the children who are looking at it from a lower perspective, they feel more anxious.

Chang: Your workspace in the classroom will be very different from other schools, for example, too many teaching supplies on the workbench can be distracting to children. How do you address this?

MB : Yes, that's why we incorporated movable bookshelves at the workstations and student spaces. This is helpful because the teacher can still look at the child from a high level while covering the child's view. Just like the German schools use a lot of low dividing walls. But the walls can't be too short or children will climb on them and cause danger.

One classroom I used to work in was one-on-one tutoring, while the other was a mixed type. While the child could work independently, the other children could learn to imitate.

Chang: I think designers are too traditional in their thinking and we need to tap into the common interests of most children and children with autism and even adults.

MB: I don’t remember whoever said this: “If every classroom is set as an autism classroom, more children will be succeeded. Because we focus on the individual what they can and cannot do. Like you struggling about this and let me help you with, but not one thing fits all.