Comparing desired spatial ratios among autistic and non-autistic children
ISSN: 2631-6862
Article publication date: 16 January 2023
Issue publication date: 7 March 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Although some architects have found spatial order and proportion strategy effective in designing the environment for autistic children, it is not clear what spatial ratios are preferred for autistic people. Therefore, this study aims to find the desired ratio among autistic and non-autistic children.
Design/methodology/approach
The scale model questionnaire was chosen to determine the difference in the ratio preferences for autistic and non-autistic children, whereas two access types between the space zones are also considered. The questionnaire was administered to 50 autistic children, with a half-and-half distribution of moderate and mild autism groups, while males are twofold. It was also administered to 50 non-autistic children, approximately equal in terms of gender division. The scale model was designed in the form of a dollhouse to be played with a doll in 6 varied rooms categorized by 3 different ratios (1:1, golden ratio, 1.6:1 and 5:2) and 2 access types (linear and radial access) to measure how many times each room was selected by each group to run numerical analysis.
Findings
It was shown that, although the golden ratio has been previously considered in space design for autistic children, they appealed to the ratio of 2:5 with high frequency. While there is a significant difference between the spatial ratios preferred by autistic and non-autistic children choosing the golden ratio, the same type of space access system is preferred by both groups in their results.
Originality/value
Despite the prevalent use of the golden ratio in design for autism design, this research shaped an empirical study for autistic users concluding a different perspective in design for autism.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge individuals who helped with this research and express profound gratitude for their support. Great thanks to Mrs. Kiandokht Salehi, the head of the MITA, a non-profit organization for autistic children in Tehran, Iran, for contributing to this research by offering her organization to interview autistic children. Special thanks to Dr. Debajyoti Pati from the Department of Design at Texas Tech University, whose Fall 2022 graduate course on Research Design helped identify and address quality issues in the current study. Their collaboration helped this research proceed smoothly and correctly, and their efforts are appreciated.
Funding: The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Availability of data and material: The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Authors' contributions: In this research, Dr. Seyed Abbas Agha Yazdanfar and Dr. Sanaz Litkouhi designed the study. Pariya Sheykhmaleki and Dr. Sanaz Litkouhi study the literature review through the sources and wrote the manuscript. Pariya Sheykhmaleki performed the questionnaire and all 3 authors analyzed the data together. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
The Institutional Review Board (IRB): According to the submitted research, the interviewees were autistic children with their families and therapists' cooperation. In the first step, all the attendances were aware that this process is related to the research study. Therefore, they participated in this process at will. In the questioning process, interviewees were coded and just the essential data which was related to the main objective of the research was noted. Thus, they remained anonymous, and they are not traceable. No special drugs, injections or physical activity was used, and every step was taken under their occupational therapist's control. This questionnaire did not infringe any human rights. The “Research Ethic Certification” for this research has been attached to the submission.
Competing interests: No competing interest was declared by any of the authors
Citation
Sheykhmaleki, P., Yazdanfar, S.A.A. and Litkouhi, S. (2024), "Comparing desired spatial ratios among autistic and non-autistic children", Archnet-IJAR, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 142-155. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-07-2022-0153
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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