Free AIA-accredited course for NOMA PDX and UO/PDX NOMAS members! Join over Zoom during lunch on Wed 11/20/24.
NOMA PDX/NOMAS members don't need to do anything besides show up, participate, and share AIA/contact info in the chat to receive credit.
If you have questions, email Hannah Silver.
About this Course
In a very positive design trend, many libraries, schools, airports, and other spaces now offer "sensory rooms" as safe spaces intentionally shaped to meet the needs of autistic people. At its core, a sensory space in should be a retreat from a main, shared public space for anyone of any age to be quiet, make noise (vocal stimming), read a book, work, play a game, or zone out. Because autistic people (1 in 44 children and 1 in 45 adults) often have hypersensitivity to certain noises, light, smells, and textures that can make large public spaces uncomfortable or unbearable, a key feature of a good sensory space is its ability to adjust to the needs of any visitor. As we create these spaces, we should ask the same question that disabled artists Bojana Coklyat and Shannon Finnegan ask in their Alt-Text as Poetry Workbook, "How do we make spaces and experiences that disabled people not only can access but want to access?" To do this, designers of sensory spaces should learn primarily from autistic people themselves, as well as evidence-based practices and occupational therapists. The design guide referenced throughout this training was developed with the help of many topic experts to ensure that sensory room design is responsive to the wide range of needs that exist in a neurodiverse community.
HSW Justification:
This course centers autistic people and their needs so that we can shape environments that are inclusive of them.
Learning Objective 1:
Understand how hypersensitivity to certain noises, light, smells, and textures can make large public spaces uncomfortable or unbearable for people Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnoses.
Learning Objective 2:
Share examples of how thoughtful design of malleable "sensory spaces" can provide autistic people of all ages--and many others--with a safe space to retreat to within larger, possibly overwhelming, buildings or events.
Learning Objective 3:
Describe the best practices for designing a sensory room, or spaces that that are sensitive to sensory needs: Safety Balanced with Cozy Enclosure, Multisensory Agency, Design Cohesion, and Connection to Place.
Learning Objective 4:
Determine next steps for applying new knowledge about sensory sensitive design to everyday design projects of all typologies, as well as to our own workplaces.