Luxury When There Are Exceptional Needs

By Stephanie Lee Jackson

“I should be doing yoga every day, but that’s not possible,” said Zeke, at the start of the pandemic. “There’s not enough space in my apartment. I could move the furniture aside and put it back, but realistically I’m never going to do that.”

“Send me photos of your place and measurements of everything,” I told him.

A week later he had a dedicated yoga zone in his home office, along with a library, a reading corner, and a much more comfortable desk setup. Cost of new furniture, fixtures, and supplies? Nothing.

Like many of my clients, Zeke is wrangling a cluster of diagnoses which make executive functioning difficult. He is often in physical pain and hasn’t got money to spare. He’s not the kind of person who hires interior designers—ever.

Because design is a luxury, right?

Just. So. Tired.

When you’re struggling with health issues, special needs, or caregiving, taking the time and money to attend to your space feels impossible. It lives at the bottom of the “nice to have someday” list. You’re putting out an endless series of fires—doctor’s appointments, Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, occupational therapy, your job. You’re lucky if you have clean laundry and everyone gets fed; forget about living in an Architectural Digest editorial!

But your quality of life is at stake. Your environment has a huge impact on your state of mind, your health, your relationships, your energy levels, and your ability to focus. When you and your family have special needs, the state of your home can make the difference between surviving and thriving.

The constant drain of chaos

Your nervous system can only handle so much sensory input before it’s overwhelmed. When your resources are limited, it makes sense to consider what environmental factors drain you, and what energizes and supports you.

• Clutter: According to researchers at Princeton, visual chaos blocks your ability to focus and process information. The more obstacles around you, the more your attention is diverted, and the more energy your brain expends on trying to block it out.

• Noise: Human beings evolved to respond to sounds at mid-range frequencies—i.e., tigers in the bushes— as threats. When your surroundings have uncontrollable noise, like children playing, coworkers chatting, loud music, traffic and construction, your nervous system is continually on alert.

• Lighting: Nobody likes fluorescent lights, but for some people on the autism spectrum, fluorescent lighting prevents them from forming an image in their visual cortex3. Harsh, bright spot lighting can be distracting and uncomfortable for many people, and too much or too little natural light can produce discomfort and depression.

• Texture: Many children with special needs cannot tolerate scratchy clothing with labels, and this sensitivity extends to furniture, as well. Softer places to sit and lie down make kids happier.

• Layout: When a person’s balance and proprioception (sense of body location) are compromised, falls and collisions can be a concern. Clear pathways and padded corners make spaces safer and easier to navigate.

• Systems: Many neurodivergent people have issues with remembering and prioritizing essential tasks. Designing systems with visual cues that remind you of behaviors you want to maintain—such as exercise, nutrition, meditation, and social connection—provides support for your executive function.

When you and your family are battling factors in your space which trigger sensory sensitivities and overwhelm your nervous system, everything gets harder. Emotional regulation becomes a bigger challenge.

For example, one of our clients reported that her son, a brilliantly creative child on the autism spectrum, would have multiple meltdowns if he didn’t get space and time to calm down after school. After consulting with an occupational therapist, we designed a sensory soothing zone in a corner of his bedroom. Now he has a place to retreat before his overwhelm becomes unmanageable.

Often, a simple design tweak like this can add some desperately needed breathing room to your daily routine.

Sensory, not expensive

Another client approached us because her husband’s hyperacusis (hypersensitivity to sound) was making dinnertime unbearably painful because of the acoustic chaos generated by three children in their seventeen-foot-high dining room. We created a sound buffering solution that was simple to install, integrated into their existing style, and was cheaper than expected. They were then able to work from home with a nanny and two more kids, without auditory misery.

Sanctuary equals joy

Sometimes, clients come looking for ways to support their special needs children and find the biggest transformation happens in themselves. One mother found that implementing the right colors, layouts, and lighting changed her relationship with her home; it became a sanctuary, not a battleground. Clutter still accumulates, but she feels joy when she opens her front door and is embraced by colors and textures which tell her who she is: a creative, resilient person surrounded by life and love.

For more information, sign up for our Sympathetic Magic tribe at practicalsanctuary.com.

References

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21228167/, Interactions of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Mechanisms in Human

2. Visual Cortex, by Stephanie McMains and Sabine Kastner, Journal of Neuroscience, January 2011.Allahverdy, A., & Jafari, A. H. (2016). Non-auditory Effect of Noise Pollution and Its Risk on Human Brain Activity in Different Audio Frequency Using Electroencephalogram Complexity. Iranian journal of public health, 45(10), 1332–1339. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC5149497/.

3. Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures, 2006.

Stephanie Lee Jackson founded Practical Sanctuary, Sensory Interior Design when her art and healing practices converged. She holds degrees from the San Francisco Art Institute and the University of Texas at Austin and founded art spaces in San Francisco and New York City. She has been a licensed massage therapist specializing in pain relief for 23 years as the owner of Practical Bodywork in Philadelphia. She is currently working on a book, The Eccentric Genius Habitat Intervention: Interior Design for Highly Sensitive People. To book a design consultation, please visit practicalsanctuary.com