Spatial deprivation of children with autism spectrum disorders in the arctic city

Abstract

The inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorders in society is an urgent social task that, due to its complexity, requires new perspectives of scientific research for the sound regulation of inclusive processes. The problem of the study was determined by the contradiction between the social significance of the development of inclusion and the risks of including children with ASD in the urban space existing in the Arctic city. We have introduced the category of spatial deprivation of children with autism spectrum disorders into the research field, and proposed its author's interpretation. The empirical study was aimed at identifying the state of inclusion of children with ASD in the space of the Arctic city. The results of the study showed their significant spatial deprivation in the Arctic city. It manifests itself in relation to public, semi-public spaces, spaces for movement, expressed both in their insufficient accessibility and in a significant limitation of forms of development. The conclusion is made about the low social status of children with ASD in the Arctic city, as well as about the presence of obstacles to their realization of their universal needs. This situation is mainly determined by socio-psychological and organizational factors and objectifies the difficulties of developing inclusive processes.