Understanding the impact of acoustics on the learning ability among children with autism in the classroom

Abstract

A pronounced ambition concerning the educational policy in Sweden is to organize an all-inclusive school, meaning that schools should be able to meet the needs of all children, irrespective of their capacities and conditions. However, there were no specific guidelines for the school environment as a learning environment. In my thesis The Human Environment Interaction-model is implemented to identify environmental factors that affect children with ADHD, autism, and Down's syndrome and their ability to concentrate in their learning environment at school. The issue was not to dismiss any of the additional resources these children are in need of; instead it was to suggest how to arrange learning environments in the most supportive way possible. This presentation will focus on aspects of acoustics which are—and which are not—beneficial for children with autism. The results from the thesis have been an underlying basis for further work at the National Agency for Special Needs Educations and Schools in Sweden, which will also be presented. The developed work at the Agency resulted in a tool with guidelines to make the learning environment more accessible for all children in existing classrooms, but it can also be implemented in the building process.