How to Make your Home more Autism-Friendly
As we learned recently, environmental factors such as light, sound, available space, and smells will have a big impact on an autistic brain.
This is why it’s important to create a home environment that supports your child’s sensory needs (or yours). By reducing the sensory overwhelm generated by the outside world (school/work, shopping center, the street), we can create a calmer space at home.
In order to create a sensory-friendly home environment, you can find some tweaks that you can do below. Also, we’ve categorized them by senses, which might help you understand your child’s triggers better (or yours). But please, before making any changes, try to identify what sensory preferences your child has (or you).
Visual changes
- Natural light instead of fluorescent light if possible
- Dimming lights
- Blackout curtains
- Lamps if changing the lighting is not possible
- Paint walls using autism-friendly colors
- Declutter spaces, offering open areas that make movement easier
- Visual planners or visual schedules
Auditory
- Warn your child before using the vacuum, blender, dishwasher, washing machine, or dryer (or any noisy tool that might trigger them)
- Use noise-canceling headphones
- Use white noise or preferred calming sounds for sleep, concentrating, or reading
- Offer music and listening to preferred songs
Smell
- Make sure the house is well-ventilated
- Try to keep strong smells away
- Give a warning if you are cooking something that might be a trigger
- If your child has a preferred smell, you can use it in a humidifier
Touch
- Have pillows, rugs, and blankets in different textures
- Or you can have pieces of fabric in different textures
- Allow for messy play: dough, kinetic sand, putty
- Provide fidget toys—toys designed to help calm and regulate emotions
Vestibular
- Have swings, hammocks, or exercise balls when rocking is needed
- Schedule time to run and jump—this is helpful before homework or meal times
- Have a place for them to crash: a crash mat or an old mattress
Proprioceptive
- Do heavy work, like laundry, sweeping, or vacuuming
- Offer a weighted blanket or weighted toys
- Create a place to do yoga
I hope this list was helpful for you. But remember, you don’t need to do all these changes at once. Your child will not need a stressful home renovation. You can start by clearing clutter and offering an open space for them to regulate.
Step by step.
