The Architectural Needs and Preferences of Autistic People Versus Gerontological Residential Care Facility Design...

Older autistic people in the United Kingdom are facing a social care crisis. Autistic people are more likely to need social care as they age, but little is known about the architectural needs of autistic people, meaning current residential care facility design makes this form of social care inaccessible to them. Older autistic people often have to rely on fragile informal care or are placed in unsuitable social care situations such as long-stay hospital wards. In contrast, there are established gerontological best practices for designing residential care for older people. This article discusses how the residential architectural needs of autistic people and gerontological residential care design best practices may conflict.

One hundred and five autistic people answered an online questionnaire asking about their architectural needs and preferences. Qualitative results were analyzed using reflective thematic analysis with an inductive approach, and quantitative results were described and tested for statistical significance where appropriate.

The research identified three themes where there may be conflict between the architectural needs of autistic people and gerontological residential care design practices: sensory challenges, interactions with others, and day-to-day life. Elements within these themes could make buildings inaccessible to autistic people, cause sensory overload, cause distress, or negatively impact their executive function and ability to complete daily tasks.

Certain aspects of residential care design that may positively influence older people's well-being and quality of life may cause autistic people distress and discomfort and inhibit their ability to undertake daily tasks. Some of the elements that may cause this dichotomy are the building location and connectivity, building and spatial size, navigation and wayfinding, open plan flexible spaces or distinct separate spaces, spatial interconnectivity, the extent of the private domain, and social space design. Further research is needed on how to overcome these conflicts.

Why is this an important issue?: Older autistic people are more likely to need social care than older non-autistic people. We don't know much about the best way to design buildings for autistic people. The design of residential care buildings might stop autistic people moving into them. This could stop autistic people accessing social care when they need it.What was the purpose of this study?: We looked at whether the best way to design buildings for autistic people may be different from designing buildings for older people. Understanding those differences may help us design better residential buildings for autistic people.What did the researcher do?: The researcher wrote a questionnaire and asked autistic people to answer it. The questionnaire was about what autistic people like or dislike about the buildings they live in. We looked for patterns in the answers. We compared those patterns with research on the best way to design residential care buildings for older people.What were the results?: The autistic people who answered the questionnaire wrote about how they wanted to live somewhere quiet. They said that they didn't want to live near other people. They did not want to live with other people who had different lifestyles and needs. They also said too many other people and sensory discomfort may stop them being able to enter a space. They did not like being forced to socialize. They need to be able to leave a space when there are too many people in it. They wanted there to be enough space between people. They said that having to use shared spaces may stop them being able to cook, eat, exercise, and wash. They said that they would find it hard to use rooms that had several different uses or where the layout could change. They said their home is their safe space.What do these findings add to what was already known?: These findings help us know more about what autistic people like or dislike about the buildings they live in. They also help us know which parts of residential care building design autistic people dislike.What are potential weaknesses in the study?: We did not know much about this topic before doing the research. This made it harder to know how to do the research. It would have been better if more autistic people had answered the questionnaire. It would have been better if more different types of people answered the questionnaire.How will these findings help autistic adults now or in the future?: This research will help people design residential care buildings in a way that is better for autistic people. It helps us understand why they like or dislike parts of a building's design.