Sensory-Friendly Design in the United States

In the United States, the accessibility of public space design is largely guided by the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990. These criteria largely detail physical accessibility guidelines intended to ensure accessibility of public spaces by individuals with varying physical ability levels. While these requirements undoubtedly have a positive impact on the experiences of people with physical differences, current ADA standards provide little - though not zero - guidance on making spaces accessible for individuals with autism spectrum disorder or other neurological differences which increase sensitivity to sensory stimuli, despite this being a protected disability category as defined by the most recent Standards for Accessible Design published in 2010. As the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in the United States increases each year, engineers and architects have the opportunity to further improve accessibility of public spaces to children and adults with autism by incorporating thoughtful sensory design strategies into public design schemes.

This thesis utilizes research on existing accessibility standards with an examination of the intention of public space design to include and exclude certain members of society from the public eye. In addition, this work draws upon the author’s personal experiences as a sibling of someone with autism, as well as supplementary interviews of experts with many hours of experience interacting with individuals with autism spectrum disorder in order to determine which design strategies might be most effective in ensuring sensory accessibility for individuals with sensitivities to sensory stimuli. These conclusions result in several recommendations for design requirements which may be added to existing accessibility design standards. These key recommendations for public spaces include the implementation of shading and thoughtful lighting strategy, the use of auditory barriers and noise-dampening surfaces, and increase of access to privacy within public spaces. When applied on a broad scale, public spaces may become generally more accessible to individuals of all sensory sensitivities and to the broader community as a whole.