Thesis Statement: 

This thesis will attempt to design a series of sensory spaces to be adapted into a residential living community for the increase in quality of life and independence for adults and adolescents living with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder. 

Abstract: 

For many years, physicians and the greater population saw Autism Spectrum Disorder as a behavioral syndrome. But what physicians have proved in recent decades is that autism is a wide spectrum disorder foremost affecting the senses. Autistic individuals have difficulty distinguishing relevant from irrelevant stimuli due to the fact that their brain is unable to organize sensation into meaning and concept. They cannot ‘break’ the whole picture into relevant parts. Individuals with ASD fall somewhere in the spectrum of being hyper-sensitive or hypo-sensitive to their surroundings. Their constant discomfort in the surrounding environment is what causes them to have social and behavioral anxiety.

It is a known fact that not much investigation and research has gone into the support of adults with autism. Government funding goes into the education and therapy of children with autism, but after the age of 18, adults with autism often end up in isolation, in the care of their families, or in mental institutions. The goal of this thesis is to design a series of sensory zones or installation-like spaces that will be adapted into a residential living community for the increase in quality of life for autistic individuals.