12 Design Pillars for Autism

The Muiriosa Foundation reviews  user themes woven through the 12 Design Pillars for Autism

The 12 Design Pillars for Autism created and developed by Simon Humphreys articulate how to shape spaces that are calm, predictable, intelligible and humane, while remaining agile to different nervous systems. Below, each Pillar is stated with a brief note linking it to repeated patterns across the autism audited sites.

1. Calm “In a stable, ordered, secure environment… reduce abrupt sensory changes… design in good calming ambient temperature, acoustics and odours.” (Humphreys, S.) Applied across sites: warm, low-glare, dimmable light, soft acoustics and managed odours set a kind baseline that reduces effort.

2. Proportion “Well-proportioned spaces can uplift the human spirit… We feel pleasure and protection when the body discovers its resonance in space.” (Humphreys, S.). Applied across sites: right-sized volumes and seating clusters help large rooms feel protective rather than echoic and exposed. 

3. Proxemics “The circle of care is the amount of space around the body so autistic users do not feel threatened and can have support.” (Humphreys, S.) Applied across sites: wider pass-by routes, small nooks and predictable personal distance support comfort and co-regulation.

4. The Seven Senses “Design and create spaces for all the senses… sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing, vestibular, proprioception.” Applied across sites: odour control at kitchens, tactile cues on routes, daily proprioceptive and vestibular options as ordinary, not occasional. (Humphreys, S.)

5. Atmosphere “Consider how light falls… avoid sharp shadows… reduce drama and background noise, consider texture more than normal.” (Humphreys, S.) Applied across sites: indirect light at warm colour temperatures, matt finishes and gentle textures improved comfort immediately. (Humphreys, n.d.-a; Spence, 2020)

6. Trust and Safety “Autistic people need a space that they feel and are safe in, and emotionally they can trust… spaces need to be agile enough to accommodate both seekers and avoiders.” (Humphreys, S.) Applied across sites: homely layouts, rebalancing alcoves instead of time out rooms or sensory rooms, and unobtrusive supervision. (Humphreys, n.d.-a; BPS, 2024)

7. Materials Materials create atmospheres… they should be beautiful, durable… limit the use of different materials to create balance and harmony.” (Humphreys, S.). Applied across sites: natural, forgiving materials and restrained palettes reduced visual noise and worry about perfection. (Humphreys, n.d.-a)

8. Agility “A certain level of agility, flexibility and adaptability may need to be provided… lighting should be adjustable… furniture should be flexible… RGB colour can be temporary and adaptable.” (Humphreys, S.) Applied across sites: user control is a principle. If direct control is not guaranteed, the default still must be warm, low-flicker and indirect, with labelled, symbol-supported controls visible. (Humphreys, n.d.-a; IASLT & PSI, 2022)

9.Transition and Movement “Platforms of transition provide the basis for reducing the anxiety of change… time to stop, pause and reflect… looking back and looking forward a sneak preview of what is coming… reducing the change in floor textures… a gentle process of a slow reveal of sensory information reducing abruptness.” (Humphreys, S.) Applied across sites: small pause bays at thresholds and covered indoor to outdoor steps created softer journeys. (Humphreys, n.d.-d; Humphreys, n.d.-e)

10. Sensory Zoning “Group spaces with similar sensory stimulation levels together into high, moderate, and low stimulation zones… transition zones help the user recalibrate their senses as they move from one level of stimulus to the next.” (Humphreys, S.) Applied across sites: whole-space zoning works better than a single sensory room. Kitchens and busy hubs away from quiet rooms, with mid-level buffers between. (Humphreys, n.d.-a; Mostafa, 2021)

11. Intuitive Wayfinding “Less reliance on props… more autonomy and independence of movement. Consider space orientation, anchor points, constant multisensory reference points such as courtyards, textures, odours, sounds, vistas, pause points and gathering points to provide independent direction and orientation.” (Humphreys, S.) Applied across sites: calm related pastels, one symbol set with words, tactile cues at grasp points, and repeated anchors like planter groups. (Humphreys, n.d.-a)

12. Inclusive Universal Design “Allow inclusion in both directions, not too special.” Applied across sites: adapt the environment, not the person. The same moves that reduce sensory load for autistic people also reduce staff workload and incidents. (Humphreys, n.d.-c; HSE/DCEDIY, 2025)

Themes from user audits - woven through the 12 Pillars

Across the audits, the same needs kept surfacing, and they map closely to these pillars. Calm sat at the centre: where light was harsh, radios constant and odours drifted, bodies had to work to stay regulated. Calm in practice meant warm, low-glare light that people can adjust, soft acoustics and managed smells so the baseline is already kind. Proportion and Proxemics showed up in very large, echoic rooms and narrow corridors that made passing others effortful. Right-sized volumes, seating clusters that shrink big spaces to human scale and wider pass-bys respected the circle of care that changes through the day.

The Seven Senses and Atmosphere mattered in every corridor and kitchenette. Shiny or speckled floors, whining fans and travelling cooking smells frayed attention. Atmospheres improve with indirect light at warm colour temperatures, matt finishes that do not glare, quieter mechanicals and textures that invite touch. Trust and Safety and Materials were visible wherever rooms felt institutional. People do better in spaces that look and feel like real places to be, with forgiving, natural materials, a coherent palette and small hideaways for short retreats (Humphreys, n.d.-a; Spence, 2020; Mostafa, 2021).

The strongest theme was user control, which is Agility made concrete. There is little point installing dimmable or colour-tunable fittings if the people using the space cannot reach the controls or request a change. Where direct user control cannot be guaranteed, fittings must default to warm, indirect, low-flicker settings as standard rather than as an upgrade later. Controls should be simple, at entry height, and paired with visible AAC so requests can be made without speech. When the environment adapts quickly, masking falls and participation rises.

Transitions and Movement were a constant pressure point. People need time and cues to recalibrate between zones. Abrupt thresholds, bright doorways and long hard corridors created a sense of rushing. Small pause bays with a bench, soft lamp and planting give a slow reveal of what is next and make indoor to outdoor journeys gentler, especially when Irish weather asks for cover. Sensory Zoning works best when it is whole space rather than a single sensory room. Kitchens, printers and busy hubs belong together at the higher end of the spectrum, with quieter rooms protected by mid-level transition spaces. Wayfinding becomes easier when Intuitive Wayfinding cues are used consistently and quietly. Calm related pastels, one symbol set with words, tactile cues at grasp points and repeated anchors like a planter group or a timber band helps people know where they are without working hard.

Inclusive Universal Design tie it together. The same changes that reduce sensory load for Autistic people reduced staff load and made rooms feel less like places to manage and more like places to live. Living plants are the most affordable and effective regulator. They softened glare at windows, reduce echo, steady humidity, purify air and offer gentle touch and visual anchors. Open play and movement needed to be normal for adults, with proprioceptive and vestibular access in ordinary rooms. Language and naming matters because they shape expectations of place. Co-created names and signage align with autonomy and belonging. When we read behaviour as communication and design the environment to remove avoidable effort, the Pillars move off the page and into daily practice (Humphreys, n.d.-a; IASLT & PSI, 2022; BPS, 2024).