About a year ago, I audited a local grocery store, testing to see how autism-friendly or -unfriendly it was. I'm well suited for this sort of audit, because I have sensory sensitivities in plenty but I'm usually able to quantify and express what I experience in an understandable way. Your typical autistic child or even adult may suffer similarly, but lack the vocabulary or even the understanding of what in particular is hurting them.
At the time, I developed an audit template sheet. It's very much a work in progress, and I'm sure actual auditors would be able to improve it. I tried to make my criteria reasonable for a business, but this isn't the kind of audit sheet most commercial businesses could score 100% on, even if they're dedicated to being accessible.
The sheet is here, and should be publicly available. Rather than rehash what I've already written on the subject, I thought it might be worthwhile to discuss how these criteria could apply to a home. We're stuck at home during this quarantine, it makes sense to make your home as comfortable and accessible as possible for the autistics in your life. After all, a supportive environment means fewer meltdowns and less tension and unpleasantness.
From an accessibility standpoint, however, fluorescents are awful. They flicker, even when working properly. Some autistic people can see that flicker, and it's immensely distracting, or even painful. Allistic/neurotypical people may relate if they've ever been stuck in a room with a malfunctioning, flickering fluorescent light. Multiply that irritation by at least 3, and you're in the ballpark for the autistic people who are less affected by this issue. It goes up from there, to the point where some autistic people can't be in the same room as fluorescent lights. You can mute the flicker by shading them, or having a mix of light types.
Thankfully, most homes I've been in don't bother with fluorescent lights except in laundry rooms. If there are any rooms in your house that do have them, check with your loved one about those areas of the house. If the autistic person doesn't speak, consider whether they typically avoid those areas of the house, or whether meltdowns seem to happen more frequently in those areas.
Also a plus, most homes don't have those horrid blue-white LED light strips, or little flashing TVs to hawk products at you. Most homes are also not lit to commercial standards, and are darker and easier on the eyes. Additionally, homes tend to be lit with warmer colored bulbs. Where industrial settings and some commercial settings use blue-white (or "outdoor") lights, homes use "indoor" warm yellow-white lights. These are less piercing and painful than the alternative.
What's reasonable may vary by the person. I typically have a very quiet home, so quiet you can actually hear the HVAC system and water in the pipes. But depending on your culture, it may be normal to have at least one stereo blaring music, or a TV on all the time. Keep in mind that there's a difference to autistic people between sounds we don't control (like someone else's stereo or TV) and ones we do (like banging on a drum, our own music or TV, etc).
Overall volume is only one facet of this problem, though. You also need to factor in how complex the environment is. If, like Seaworld, you have competing music in certain areas, that is unpleasant to people with sensory sensitivities. Consider the things that make noise in your home. This might be something as simple as the refrigerator droning, or the washer/dryer clunking or banging. Perhaps the heating/cooling system clicks or bangs when it turns on. Or maybe some of your lights hum when they're on. I have a dimmer switch on the dining room that hums and snaps a bit when it's in use.
If you can, ask your loved one about these things. If that's not an option, spend a few minutes in each room of the house, and just listen carefully. What do you hear? Keep in mind that younger people can often hear higher frequencies than older people can, so even if you hear nothing of note, there may still be noise you can't hear. Or sounds you would normally tune out, like the buzzing or notification sounds of others' phones, that aren't as predictable.
Finally, emergency alarms need to be considered. This includes fire alarms as well as carbon monoxide detectors. Most fire alarms I've had the misfortune of experiencing were blindingly painful. They are the typical high-pitched, grating, painfully loud shrieks that are designed to wake people out of a cold sleep and send them shambling down the stairs and out the door in a stupor. These are widespread, but they're not the only kind of fire alarm in existence. When my second high school remodeled their library, they installed a talking alarm that made lower pitched booping noises and informed people in English that there was an emergency, and to please leave in an orderly fashion (I forget the exact directions).
In 2004, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission put out a document on home fire alarms. While dense, this document is informative on the various options for alarms, including ones that don't rely on sound. In short, there are many options, but in general most places have stuck with the most sensory-unfriendly ones.
In homes, the situation is much less predictable. People may burn scented candles or wear perfume or cologne with no thought towards others' comfort. But these overtly scented items aren't the only way excessive smells can infect an environment. Every class of cleaning product, from hand soap to floor cleaners to laundry detergent, comes in scented varieties. Typically these aren't too overwhelmingly powerful, but exceptions exist... and sensitivities vary. I know of one woman that has to buy all her products in unscented, or she will suffer immensely.
Keep your scented product choices in mind when considering the environment for an autistic person. Do they tend to complain about or avoid areas that have recently been cleaned? Or do they prefer the smell? Keep in mind, too, that even common unscented cleaners, like bleach or vinegar, can have strong odors that can upset a sensory-sensitive person.
Cooking smells can also be a minefield, depending on the person. Some smells, like cabbage or onions, can bother even neurotypical people. This is especially true in smaller areas. So if your autistic loved one typically melts down when you're frying fish, that's a pretty clear sign. Maybe skip the fish, or at least try a different kind of fish.
For a home, it's significantly more complicated. I still think a recovery room or somewhere quiet and comfortable the autistic person can retreat to, to cool down, is very important. For me, growing up, that was my room. I wasn't made to share a room with my brother, so the space was always mine, and it was always safe to return to. For larger families and families without the option to give their autistic children separate rooms, a closet might serve this purpose, or a space outside.
The problem with trying to make a one-size-fits-all sheet for autism-friendliness is that autistic people are very NOT one-size-fits-all. Because the diagnosis is such a trash bin, all kinds of people with all kinds of needs get thrown into it. So you really need to look carefully at what your autistic loved one needs, what they're good at, and what they struggle with. If they have executive function difficulties (issues planning their day, breaking a task into smaller tasks, organizing themselves), then setting up a calendar and rewards would be a good plan. If they don't, those things might help, but they won't have as major of an impact.
In general, be clear and upfront about expectations, whether they're social expectations ("you will sit at the table until everyone is finished eating") or chores ("you will take out the trash on Wednesday evenings"). Spell this out on a schedule if this is possible. I make use of Google Calendar in my household, and my spouse and I have shared our calendars with each other so there are relatively few surprises.
Finally, try to keep positive things available in the house. This also varies widely by the autistic person. Perhaps a favorite food can be kept in stock, or a favorite scented product, or a toy. Perhaps the person loves watching bicycle tires spin, or a particular TV show. Whatever it is, consider it like self-care for the autistic person... because it is! Some neurotypical people swear by the soul-restoring benefits of drinking tea, or reading a book, or listening to favorite music. Autistic people can enjoy these activities too, but they may also enjoy watching lava lamps, staring into bright lights, or putting objects into lines. Just because these activities fall outside the norm doesn't make them any less valid. Make sure these soul-restoring things are reliably available to your loved one!
I hope this helps you make your home a friendlier, happier environment for everyone. We're all stuck inside at the moment, so the more positive "inside" is, the better!
At the time, I developed an audit template sheet. It's very much a work in progress, and I'm sure actual auditors would be able to improve it. I tried to make my criteria reasonable for a business, but this isn't the kind of audit sheet most commercial businesses could score 100% on, even if they're dedicated to being accessible.
The sheet is here, and should be publicly available. Rather than rehash what I've already written on the subject, I thought it might be worthwhile to discuss how these criteria could apply to a home. We're stuck at home during this quarantine, it makes sense to make your home as comfortable and accessible as possible for the autistics in your life. After all, a supportive environment means fewer meltdowns and less tension and unpleasantness.
Lighting
Lighting is complicated issue in the commercial use, but thankfully simpler at home. Fluorescent lights are basically the standard in institutions and commercial buildings because of how cheap they are to run. You literally turn them on at the beginning of the day, and thereafter they cost pennies to keep lit for hours. Incandescent lights are far more expensive. Natural light is beholden to the eccentricities of the weather and the day and night cycles. The choice, in terms of saving money, is painfully clear.From an accessibility standpoint, however, fluorescents are awful. They flicker, even when working properly. Some autistic people can see that flicker, and it's immensely distracting, or even painful. Allistic/neurotypical people may relate if they've ever been stuck in a room with a malfunctioning, flickering fluorescent light. Multiply that irritation by at least 3, and you're in the ballpark for the autistic people who are less affected by this issue. It goes up from there, to the point where some autistic people can't be in the same room as fluorescent lights. You can mute the flicker by shading them, or having a mix of light types.
Thankfully, most homes I've been in don't bother with fluorescent lights except in laundry rooms. If there are any rooms in your house that do have them, check with your loved one about those areas of the house. If the autistic person doesn't speak, consider whether they typically avoid those areas of the house, or whether meltdowns seem to happen more frequently in those areas.
Also a plus, most homes don't have those horrid blue-white LED light strips, or little flashing TVs to hawk products at you. Most homes are also not lit to commercial standards, and are darker and easier on the eyes. Additionally, homes tend to be lit with warmer colored bulbs. Where industrial settings and some commercial settings use blue-white (or "outdoor") lights, homes use "indoor" warm yellow-white lights. These are less piercing and painful than the alternative.
Sounds
Sounds are a different kind of problem. There are some places (one restaurant in particular that shall be nameless) that I simply can't be in comfortably, because the noise level is too high. Having a reasonable noise level, including the ambient noise or music, and the noises the other residents make, shouldn't be too much to ask in a home.What's reasonable may vary by the person. I typically have a very quiet home, so quiet you can actually hear the HVAC system and water in the pipes. But depending on your culture, it may be normal to have at least one stereo blaring music, or a TV on all the time. Keep in mind that there's a difference to autistic people between sounds we don't control (like someone else's stereo or TV) and ones we do (like banging on a drum, our own music or TV, etc).
Overall volume is only one facet of this problem, though. You also need to factor in how complex the environment is. If, like Seaworld, you have competing music in certain areas, that is unpleasant to people with sensory sensitivities. Consider the things that make noise in your home. This might be something as simple as the refrigerator droning, or the washer/dryer clunking or banging. Perhaps the heating/cooling system clicks or bangs when it turns on. Or maybe some of your lights hum when they're on. I have a dimmer switch on the dining room that hums and snaps a bit when it's in use.
If you can, ask your loved one about these things. If that's not an option, spend a few minutes in each room of the house, and just listen carefully. What do you hear? Keep in mind that younger people can often hear higher frequencies than older people can, so even if you hear nothing of note, there may still be noise you can't hear. Or sounds you would normally tune out, like the buzzing or notification sounds of others' phones, that aren't as predictable.
Finally, emergency alarms need to be considered. This includes fire alarms as well as carbon monoxide detectors. Most fire alarms I've had the misfortune of experiencing were blindingly painful. They are the typical high-pitched, grating, painfully loud shrieks that are designed to wake people out of a cold sleep and send them shambling down the stairs and out the door in a stupor. These are widespread, but they're not the only kind of fire alarm in existence. When my second high school remodeled their library, they installed a talking alarm that made lower pitched booping noises and informed people in English that there was an emergency, and to please leave in an orderly fashion (I forget the exact directions).
In 2004, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission put out a document on home fire alarms. While dense, this document is informative on the various options for alarms, including ones that don't rely on sound. In short, there are many options, but in general most places have stuck with the most sensory-unfriendly ones.
Smells
Smells might be the easiest of the three to address, in most business settings. Usually you don't want to overwhelm a person's senses with a cacophony of odors. There are exceptions, like scented candle shops or places that sell soap and bath products. Other places, like bakeries and grocery stores, will pump in manufactured smells to mess with your brain for a more positive impression of the store. Or there may be ripe trash areas, bottle returns full of old beer stink, etc. That's a no-no for being accessible. Restricting scented items to their own sections is pretty basic, and should be doable for almost every business.In homes, the situation is much less predictable. People may burn scented candles or wear perfume or cologne with no thought towards others' comfort. But these overtly scented items aren't the only way excessive smells can infect an environment. Every class of cleaning product, from hand soap to floor cleaners to laundry detergent, comes in scented varieties. Typically these aren't too overwhelmingly powerful, but exceptions exist... and sensitivities vary. I know of one woman that has to buy all her products in unscented, or she will suffer immensely.
Keep your scented product choices in mind when considering the environment for an autistic person. Do they tend to complain about or avoid areas that have recently been cleaned? Or do they prefer the smell? Keep in mind, too, that even common unscented cleaners, like bleach or vinegar, can have strong odors that can upset a sensory-sensitive person.
Cooking smells can also be a minefield, depending on the person. Some smells, like cabbage or onions, can bother even neurotypical people. This is especially true in smaller areas. So if your autistic loved one typically melts down when you're frying fish, that's a pretty clear sign. Maybe skip the fish, or at least try a different kind of fish.
And So
That's what the sheet covers. What I didn't get to when I originally made this, and what's definitely the least easy to make audit criteria for, is store policies. For stores, this is fairly basic: be predictable, label your sections, don't have socially invasive policies (like demanding your employees greet the customers throughout the store), maybe implement sensory-friendly hours and have a recovery room, that sort of thing.For a home, it's significantly more complicated. I still think a recovery room or somewhere quiet and comfortable the autistic person can retreat to, to cool down, is very important. For me, growing up, that was my room. I wasn't made to share a room with my brother, so the space was always mine, and it was always safe to return to. For larger families and families without the option to give their autistic children separate rooms, a closet might serve this purpose, or a space outside.
The problem with trying to make a one-size-fits-all sheet for autism-friendliness is that autistic people are very NOT one-size-fits-all. Because the diagnosis is such a trash bin, all kinds of people with all kinds of needs get thrown into it. So you really need to look carefully at what your autistic loved one needs, what they're good at, and what they struggle with. If they have executive function difficulties (issues planning their day, breaking a task into smaller tasks, organizing themselves), then setting up a calendar and rewards would be a good plan. If they don't, those things might help, but they won't have as major of an impact.
In general, be clear and upfront about expectations, whether they're social expectations ("you will sit at the table until everyone is finished eating") or chores ("you will take out the trash on Wednesday evenings"). Spell this out on a schedule if this is possible. I make use of Google Calendar in my household, and my spouse and I have shared our calendars with each other so there are relatively few surprises.
Finally, try to keep positive things available in the house. This also varies widely by the autistic person. Perhaps a favorite food can be kept in stock, or a favorite scented product, or a toy. Perhaps the person loves watching bicycle tires spin, or a particular TV show. Whatever it is, consider it like self-care for the autistic person... because it is! Some neurotypical people swear by the soul-restoring benefits of drinking tea, or reading a book, or listening to favorite music. Autistic people can enjoy these activities too, but they may also enjoy watching lava lamps, staring into bright lights, or putting objects into lines. Just because these activities fall outside the norm doesn't make them any less valid. Make sure these soul-restoring things are reliably available to your loved one!
I hope this helps you make your home a friendlier, happier environment for everyone. We're all stuck inside at the moment, so the more positive "inside" is, the better!
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