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General Considerations for Your Home
Children and adults on the autism spectrum, as well as others with sensory processing concerns, need special considerations at home to help them with their sensory processing and overall functioning. Some home modifications do not fit into categories for specific senses, like taste or hearing. However, these modifications can make a tremendous difference to a child or adult who is battling over-stimulating environments.
Create a Sensory Room
- Build a room that has the sensory materials your child needs. These are very helpful for families who have autistic family members as they provide a place to meet sensory needs that are different than the neurotypical population. What your home’s sensory room contains will be unique to the needs of your child or family member.
- Add a swing to the room. Swinging is quite calming for individuals with autism and can help with self-regulation of senses and emotions. Safely mount a swing in your sensory room by mounting it to a ceiling joist. Make sure the swing is strong enough to handle different weights, so it can be used by a young child as well as an adult. A hammock can also help with this need.
- Add play equipment that allows for large motor movement. Rocking, sliding, and jumping are all movements that individuals with autism sometimes crave. Find out what your child or loved one needs, then add the furniture and equipment that will allow them to safely engage in these behaviors. A small indoor trampoline, indoor slide, or rocking furniture can all be helpful additions to a sensory room. If you do not have the space for these, consider exercise balls, bouncy seats, and similar small items that allow for proprioceptive input and large motor movement.
- Install or purchase furniture that allows for deep pressure. Bean bags and similar furniture that a child or autistic adult can pile on and around themselves can help create a calming sensory experience that is helpful for those with autism. Deep pressure is important for individuals with autism that crave sensory input or who have proprioceptive sensory needs.
- Add a ball pit. Ball pits are a helpful sensory experience for those with autism, and they can be installed to a sensory room. If the budget is limited, you can use an inflatable pool with balls inside for the same effect.
- Add a variety of calm, soothing lighting options. In addition to the regular overhead lighting in the space, add mood lighting, twinkling Christmas lights, spotlights, and more to create the right ambiance. Ensure that the room has the right electrical breaker service to support these lights.
- Install an air conditioner. The addition of extra lights can make the room hot, and that can be unbearable to an individual with autism. Install a room air conditioner to compensate.
- Fill the room with tactile and sensory items, but keep it organized. It is easy for a sensory room to become overstimulating if too many items are added without proper organization. Use shelving and bins to add tactile and sensory items in an organized, uncluttered way.
- Build a climbing wall. A climbing wall is also an important tool in a sensory room for individuals with autism who are prone to climbing furniture. Build one to give a safe place for climbing inside your home.
- Turn your child’s bedroom into the sensory room if another space is not available. Sometimes you won’t have room in your home to make a separate sensory room. If this is the case, build these ideas into your autistic child or loved one’s bedroom.
- Create a sensory corner. Another option if a dedicated room is not available is to create a sensory corner that contains many of the sensory input items. To help the individual with autism block out the sounds and visual impact of the rest of the home, use noise-canceling headphones and physical barriers to portion off this part of the room.
Build a Cool-Down Room
- Build a cool-down room if the autistic individual is prone to meltdowns. This provides a safe place to have the meltdown where the child and the home will not be damaged, even if the behaviors turn violent. This can be part of the sensory room but often is better as a separate space.
- Strengthen the windows in the cool down room. This will prevent windows from being broken in the midst of a meltdown.
- Add soft mats to the walls and flooring so the individual with autism can safely crash into them. This can have a calming effect in the middle of a meltdown. Sensory crash pads also help with proprioceptive input, which is necessary for people with autism
- Ensure all objects in the room, including furniture, are soft or have softened edges. If the child is experiencing violent movements during a meltdown, this will add protection.
- Control lighting through a dimmer switch. Lower lighting may be important during a meltdown, but may not be necessary at all times in this room.
- Hang drapes, not blinds, and use Velcro instead of curtain rods. This will prevent damage to the walls if the child pulls on the window coverings.
Invest in a Generator
- Purchase and install a generator. Power outages can disrupt the routine of your home and eliminate the electronic devices that can be soothing to your autistic loved one. Installing a generator ensures that you always have access to these items, even if you lose power.
- Use the generator to keep up with routine. Having your routine stay the same, even during an electrical power outage, is critical to helping your autistic loved one stay comfortable at home.
For more insight into the way a home for an individual with autism might look different than a neurotypical home, visit these resources:
- Autism Speaks: 10 Ways My House Looks Different Than Yours
- My Child Without Limits: Home Modifications
- Autism Connect: Home Modification for Children with Autism
- Growing Minds: Autism Programs – Creating an Optimum Home Environment for Children with Autism
The above information is from Christy Clawson from wondermoms.org sent to me on Sat 12/06/2021