PARIS CASE STUDY: FLOORING AND AUTISM
In 2022, Forbo Flooring Systems France conducted a study at the Educational Medical Institutes (IME) of Paris and Tourcoing together with Mélanie Bernard, a designer-researcher specialised in the sensory approach and more particularly in colour and the influence it has on our behaviour.
The case study
Several sensory workshops were carried out with three groups of children with ASD between 3 and 14 years old, to observe their behaviour with respect to various Forbo Flooring collections. We submitted samples in shade groups of the same family and the children were each asked which ones they preferred.
Research results
On the visual aspect, the children all expressed an interest in patterned flooring, such as the Sphera Energetic and Surestep ranges. This strenghtened our advice not to use busy, contrasted patterns, since the children are too attracted to them and may fixatedly stare at them for too long.
In terms of colours, the children preferred average tones, particularly cool tones such as blue and green. Several vibrant colours were also chosen, although mostly in older the age groups. This means that as the children grow older, it is easier for them to accept more stimulating colours than when they are smaller and need to be reassured.
They really loved the textile part of the collections in terms of textures. The material's warm and pleasant appearance very much appeals to the children. Nevertheless, our conversations with the educational team have reassured us that the use textile will only provide a sensory overload in certain locations. The "scratching" component can really bother and distract children.
Colour choices
Average
Medium tones, cool colours
Older age group
Saturated colours, entire colour spectrum
Conclusions
All pastel to mid-tone colours
Pattern choices
Marked patterns, with many details, even sequins
Tone-on-tone patterns that bring little contrast to the space
Colour choices
Average
Medium tones, cool colours
Older age group
Saturated colours, entire colour spectrum
Pattern choices
Marked patterns, with many details, even sequins
Conclusions
All pastel to mid-tone colours
Tone-on-tone patterns that bring little contrast to the space
Observations and advice
The open space is quite bright because of the glass above the activity area. The staff also informed us of the need to bring acoustic comfort to everyday life and we observed that the acoustical performance of the room was quite low due to the lack of suitable solutions, such as noise isolation between the floors.
There was no visual distinction between the rooms, although they all have very different purposes. Painted in neutral colours, these spaces do not offer any visual stimuli but do not provide any soothing function for the children.
This resulted in the following advice:
Colour
Before
Monochromatic
After
Polychromatic
Lighting
•••
The glass roofing makes the space bright but quite austere
•••
colours with higher LRV
Impact sound
•••
rubber
•••
Sarlon Modul’up
Impact sound reduction
••
bare wall
••
Bulletin board
Pattern
Plain dark
Plain, masking
Colour
Before
Monochromatic
Lighting
•••
The glass roofing makes the space bright but quite austere
Impact sound
•••
rubber
Impact sound reduction
••
bare wall
Pattern
Plain dark
Colour
After
Polychromatic
Lighting
•••
colours with higher LRV
Impact sound
•••
Sarlon Modul’up
Impact sound reduction
••
Bulletin board
Pattern
Plain, masking
The final result
This research together with Mélanie Bernard resulted in an advice for a redesign of all the spaces within the building to make an autism-friendly interior, triggering less stressful behaviour. The example below shows the spaces dedicated to children from 3 to 6 years old. Here, we chose a neutral, acoustic floor with few patterns to avoid ambient and visual disturbance.
The rooms are painted in cool colours to make a warm, natural look that won't be too stimulating for the children. The large living room is painted green to emphasise the room's main functions related to stimulation: community life, games, and so on. The small adjacent rooms are painted with a more intense grey green because the main function of these spaces is peaceful, small gatherings.
Bulletin board has been applied to the walls for display purposes. It also creates better acoustics and a natural harmony within the space, generating a sense of well-being for the children as well as their educators.
Before
After
Before
After