The Impact of Colour and Light on Children with Autism in Interior Spaces from an Architectural Point of View

Abstract

The primary aim of this study is to investigate the role of ‘colour and
light’ on the perception of children with autism and to indicate the most
preferred colours and lights for an interior environment for them. Related
documents were reviewed from studies published in journals, books, internet
sources etc., also data collation was done in a local special learning school in
the city of Famagusta; Northern Cyprus called ‘Special Education Centre’
(Özel Eğitim Merkezi). The centre cares and treats children with autism.
Finally, in the study, a comparison between literature review outcomes and the
results from the field study was done. Consequently a ‘checklist’ was prepared
as a guiding light for architects and interior designers to help them in the design
of living spaces for people who have autism.

Full text

Int. J. Arts and Technology, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2019 153
Copyright © 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
The impact of colour and light on children with
autism in interior spaces from an architectural point
of view
Sardar S. Shareef*
Department of Architecture,
Eastern Mediterranean University,
Famagusta, North Cyprus
Email: sardar.shareef3@gmail.com
*Corresponding author
Guita Farivarsadri
Department of Interior Architecture,
Eastern Mediterranean University,
Famagusta, North Cyprus
Email: guita.farivar@gmail.com
Abstract: The primary aim of this study is to investigate the role of ‘colour and
light’ on the perception of children with autism and to indicate the most
preferred colours and lights for an interior environment for them. Related
documents were reviewed from studies published in journals, books, internet
sources etc., also data collation was done in a local special learning school in
the city of Famagusta; Northern Cyprus called ‘Special Education Centre’
(Özel Eğitim Merkezi). The centre cares and treats children with autism.
Finally, in the study, a comparison between literature review outcomes and the
results from the field study was done. Consequently a ‘checklist’ was prepared
as a guiding light for architects and interior designers to help them in the design
of living spaces for people who have autism.
Keywords: autism; autism sensory; architecture and autism; light; colour.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Shareef, S.S. and
Farivarsadri, G. (2019) ‘The impact of colour and light on children with autism
in interior spaces from an architectural point of view’, Int. J. Arts and
Technology, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp.153–164.
Biographical notes: Sardar S. Shareef is a PhD student at the Department of
Architecture, and a Research/Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Architecture
at the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) in North Cyprus. He obtained
his BSc in Architecture Engineering in 2005 at the University of
Sulaimani/Iraq. He also had conducted his MSc in Interior Architecture at
EMU; focusing on designing interior spaces for the children with autism. In his
PhD in architecture, which has been starting since 2016, his concentration is on
theory of learning/teaching construction in architectural education.
Guita Farivarsadri is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Interior
Architecture, Faculty of Architecture at the Eastern Mediterranean University
in North Cyprus. She graduated at the Bilkent University and obtained her PhD
in Art, Design and Architecture in 1997. She has many published articles,

154 S.S. Shareef and G. Farivarsadri
conference papers, books and chapters of books. She also had several
administrative duties, the latest was the Head of Department of Industrial
Architecture at the Eastern Mediterranean University in 2013.
1 Introduction
The word autism belongs to the Greek word ‘autos’ that is used for people out of touch
when it comes to social interactions. The word was coined over 100 years ago and it has
been used since then (WebMD, 2013). The popular use of the word in our world today
began in early 1943 when psychiatrist Leo Kanner observed that 11 of his most highly
intelligent students were continually obsessed about loneliness and showed different
attributes at certain times of insanity. These encouraged him to delve into a deeper
understanding of this area (Baker, 2013). Autism still is a vague issue with just a little
notion of it being linked to a specific part of brain’s malfunctioning which in turn affects
the neurological system and makes people with autism do abnormal behaviours. Thus,
such patients have serious abnormalities in their daily life.
There are many factors that are participating in the syndrome of ‘autism’. These
include neurological injury attributable to birth and genetic factors (Fullerton et al., 1996)
etc. Psychological research centres and autism organisations declare the threat of the
problem and attempt to reduce the effectiveness of autism over society via various media
publications, awareness schemes and new ways of treatment. However, the problems and
issues related to architecture and interior architecture have not received enough attention
yet. Thus, very little endeavours so far have been put in researching autism patients’
needs when it comes to space design.
The contribution this study hopes to bring is simply providing a design checklist for
light and colour to help architects recognise various effects that these have on children
with autism. Therefore through the study, it has been tried to create various markers that
will help interior designers when designing an interior space environment for people with
autism at home or in the learning centres.
Exploring the needs of people with autism starts from testing their sensory perception
of each colour and light type as they have a different visual sensory that has impacts on
the brain. For these patients, the malfunctioning of this visual sensory is what architects
should pay attention to in designing. Understanding their psychology in view of their
reactions to surroundings will permit architects to translate these aspects into
architectural interpretations and to design fulfilling environments which help those with
autism. Participating architecture in this case, therefore, is very crucial, because having a
suitable environment, especially in interior spaces would offer people with autism an
environment that responds to their needs and help in concentration when it comes to
learning and returning to the real life after treatment and medical interventions.
2 Methodology
The methodology of the study basically is a comparison between the obtained data from
the literature review and a case study which was realised as a part of the research and
evaluating all the results together. It should be noted that the data collected in the field

The impact of colour and light on children with autism in interior spaces 155
study mainly were based on interviews and questionnaire responses of teachers and
trainers from Special Education Centre in Famagusta, North Cyprus. This centre is the
only place where children with autism are treated and cared for in the city. However, the
children who attend this centre are not all diagnosed with autism; the centre also includes
children with various forms of mental disabilities.
The purpose of this work as already has been stated is to prepare a checklist for
designing interior spaces for children with autism. Special evaluation techniques were put
in place as well as document reviews and data collection from the autism centre on
reactions, modes, behavioural pattern, responses etc. of people with autism. The stages
followed were as below:
1 An inclusive literature survey has done to find out the issues related to the perception
of colour and light by people with autism.
2 This information has been transferred to a list of issues to be considered in relation to
colour and light usage in the interior spaces for these users.
3 Using the above mentioned studies a questionnaire containing both open-ended and
close-ended questions has been prepared and distributed to the people working in
Special Education Centre.
4 Interviews were done with four families of children diagnosed with autism.
5 The results of the questionnaires and interviews were compared with the results of
the literature survey.
6 As the last step of the study a comprehensive check list related to the usage of light
and colour in interior space for people with autism has been prepared.
3 Autism
Generally, autism can be diagnosed by lack of social communication, social interaction
and social imagination. Autism has many characteristics as Al-Saad (1998) argues, like
psychiatry impairment which leads to preferring staying alone most of the times,
language and communication deficiency, sensory abnormalities to light, colour and
acoustical problems. Accumulatively these result in low self-esteem and other social
infringement (URL1, 2017). It is also common for them to be confused about what is
happening in their surroundings and they have rarely the capability to read other people’s
emotions like sadness, sarcasm, happiness etc. (URL2, 2012).
Ahrentzen et al. (2009) state some diagnostic behaviours of people with autism or
autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) as excessive daily routines, obsessive compulsive
disorder (OCD) which shows of as repeating watching the same video, having the same
food, maintaining in the same place, resisting to change his/her surrounding things,
having some kind of repetitive hand or arm flapping and walking on their toes.
3.1 Autism sensory sensitivity
People with autism have difficulties with sensory system meaning visual, olfactory,
gustatory, tactile and auditory senses. According to a scholar research done by ‘The

156 S.S. Shareef and G. Farivarsadri
National Autistic Society’ (URL3, 2014), people with autism are either hypersensitive or
hyposensitive. “The hypo-sensitive individuals need stronger input stimulators to their
nervous systems to respond it. An example can be a child with having no pain or
proactive in seeking things” [Shareef and Farivarsadri, (2016), p.23]. On the other hand
people with hyper-sensitive autism may be distracted by most of the environmental
stimuli. This is a more common type of autism and also they are more affected by the
environmental conditions. That is why in the scope of this study this type of autism
(hyper-sensitive) is considered.
3.2 Architecture and autism
The responsibility of architecture has exceeded far from creating shelters or a protective
cover from the environment for people. Rather it has become more scientific, advanced
and receptive to changes in society. Changes in people’s lifestyle, economy, and natural
disasters and so on, affect architecture and architecture reacts to and reflects those
changes in turn. But architecture’s participation to autism issue seems to be very limited
so far.
Considering the needs of people with ASD when it comes to sensory perception,
Mostafa (2008, 2014) describes a sensory design theory, which means the more
favourable an environment is, the more positive effect is on ASDs learning outcomes.
Visual aids like proper room colour (i.e., painting) can be supportive tools to help people
with autism; also proper room lighting can be constructive for presenting visual materials
and for calming down their distorted minds, especially natural lighting or daylight. That
is why it is proposed that natural lighting should be considered in a high range in
designing spaces for people with autism.
McAllister (2010) proposes an inclusive design concept for educational spaces for
people with autism which includes total depriving of outer influences, so as to give them
a better chance to concentrate and learn as much as they can. Proper room closure and
good space management are also vital. According to McAllister, a calm, well-designed
space in regards to proper natural light distribution with suitable colour affects people
with autism to be psychologically prepared for better listening and concentration. At the
same time, McAllister addresses that the environment should be convenient also for
teachers so as to help them teach in a proper way.
Further understanding of the issues mentioned above is detailed below and colour and
light as important elements of space are discussed.
3.2.1 Colour
Colour is one of the variables which probably have many influences on human
psychology, and it has a critical effect on ASDs perception. Colour has many
classifications and specifications which would make it impossible to cover it all in this
study. Thus, only categories which have direct relationship with the paper’s purpose will
be mentioned.
Colours can be classified as:
1 Warm colours: Yellow, orange and red.
2 Cool colours: Green, blue and purple.

The impact of colour and light on children with autism in interior spaces 157
3 Neutral colours: Black, grey and white (URL4, 2014).
The characteristics of colour: Elliot (2015) refers to various classification methods which
colours can be arranged accordingly. The three perceived attributes which are used to
define the colours are hue, value, and saturation (chroma).
1 Hue: Hue is the name of the colour, or the pure spectrum colours.
2 Value: It defines the darkness and lightness of a colour. Black and white when added
to a colour would change the value of that colour from one degree to another and
converts its colour’s saturation. Various tints, tones and shades of colours can be
created according to how much white, grey or black are added to the main hues.
3 Saturation or chroma: It represents the intensity or purity of the colour. In other
words the dominance of the basic hue of colour from the colour wheel (URL5,
2017).
Colour has psychological effects on people with autism as they are sensitive to colours.
According to Cherry (2012), soft colours comfort and bright colours fascinate people
with autism. He argues that beneficial colour could change from one person with autism
to the other. Therefore it is important to determine a colour with positive effect for a
single patient and this process can be undergone by leaving them under the influence of a
colour for a long time under observation to get the right result. Cherry (2012) illustrates
the effects of different colours on human perception as below:
1 Red: Stimulates the mind, increases appetite and blood circulation.
2 Bright yellow: Over stimulates and reflects light.
3 Pale yellow: Causes calming in mind.
4 Blue: Reduces blood pressure and keeps calm.
5 Green: Related with nature and inspiration, soothing.
6 Orange: Disturbance and overstimulation.
7 Rose or light pink: Soothing (Cherry, 2012).
Also, Torky et al. (2013) recommend the use of soft and neutral colours for children with
ASD. When designing spaces these colours can be used for the ceiling, floor, wall, and
furniture. They mention that applying pale grey is a convenient way of using colour and
near to perfect for people with autism. They emphasise also on the importance of
homogeneity in colour.
Further researches have been made to define the ASDs preferred colours. URL3
(2014) states that because of having visual hypersensitivity in ASDs, it is proven that
they suffer from red and yellow colours and some of them do not have the ability to see
blue. So architects should take these into consideration.
Tucker (2013) refers to the interior designer Carolyn Feder (an expert interior
designer working on spaces for people with autism) who suggests tranquil hues such as
pale blue, soft green and muted purple as the most suitable colours for ASDs, because
Feder believes that people with autism need a calm environment and assumes that soft
hue colours would have the potential to give spaces that kind of tranquillity. Likewise,

158 S.S. Shareef and G. Farivarsadri
neutral colours like ‘Ivory, beige, light mocha, muted teal and soft grey are muted colours
which can be used in their spaces.
Finally, it should be noticed that although white is a neutral colour use of it alone
should be avoided as it may remind the children with autism unpleasant doctor visits
(Anous, 2015).
In summary based on researches Elliot (2015), Cherry (2012), Torky et al. (2013),
Mostafa (2008, 2014) and Tucker (2013) done on perception of colours by people with
autism the following points related to the use of colours in interior spaces for people with
autism can be concluded:
1 Avoid saturated and bright colours because they cause glare and make eyes
uncomfortable in certain situations.
2 Using red and yellow (saturated warm colours) should be avoided.
3 Use neutral colours like ivory, beige, light mocha, muted teal and soft grey but avoid
using white.
4 Use tranquil hues like pale blue, soft green and muted purple (cold colours).
5 Use pale grey.
6 Homogeneity in painting should be considered.
7 Blue can be applied in some situations but it should be remembered that some of
them cannot see it.
3.2.2 Light
Light does not have a concrete definition as a result of its diversity of meaning when it
comes to its experience, perception, view, and knowledge. However, when it comes to
physics it can be defined as an ‘emission of electromagnetic rays’ (Pradhan, 2015). Stark
(2014) describes light as ‘electromagnetic radiation’ perceived by the human eye. This
radiation happens over an enormously wide range of gamma. The human eye can
translate light so as to detect surroundings, it is the way to see and recognise things. Light
sources can be divided into natural and unnatural (artificial) lighting.
• Natural lighting: It can be easily said that it is a light which comes from the sun. It is
known as white light but actually consists of a spectrum of colours inside. Human
eyes have a limitation to see all of the rays of the day light and mainly can see from
red to violet in the colour spectrum, the infrared and ultraviolet rays are invisible to
human eyes.
• Unnatural (artificial) lighting: It is a kind of invention by the human to substitute
natural lighting when the sun is absent. Candles, oil lamps, fire itself, electrical
lamps and laser are all artificial lightings. But nowadays electrical lamps have a great
contribution to our lives and have many kinds of sources, as is mentioned in URL6
(2014):
1 Tungsten filament bulbs: It is a type of light used in households. It is made up of
a thin metal inside a bulb that becomes hot when electric waves pass through it
and glows to produce light in yellow-white colour.

The impact of colour and light on children with autism in interior spaces 159
2 Neon lights: It is a gas-based type which basically consist of a closed glass bulb
or tube filled with a kind of inert gas. When a voltage is given to the electrodes
at the end of the glass the gas begins to glow. It can have various colours.
3 Fluorescent tubes: Fluorescents are gas conceptive models, consisting of a tube
filled with a mercury vapour, when electricity passes through the gas it gives off
ultraviolet light. This ultraviolet light is absorbed by the phosphorous powder
that coats the inside of the tube and is changed into a white light.
4 LED: Light-emitting-diode is the newest artificial model of lighting, a tiny
electronic device that emits light, and has the ability to produce various coloured
lights (URL7, 2014).
Lighting is among the sensory sensitivities for people with autism and it has influences
on their perception of space depend on whether the natural or unnatural lighting have
been used. Generally, natural lighting benefits both mental and physical well-being of
human, because it is the best for the eye as it includes the whole range of ray spectrum
perceptible by the human eye and man has adapted to its use from past times. Therefore,
any changes in this spectrum can influence human and create provocativeness or some
abnormality. The issue is probably more different for people with autism because they are
not only being affected by the light, they might even suffer because of it. URL3 (2014)
describes the possibility of distracting effect and suffering of ASDs in places that are
lightened by Fluorescent or harsh lighting due to flickering and hums. One of the
advantages of the use of natural lighting over fluorescent is its full spectrum feature.
Thus, whenever possible full-spectrum lightings should be used as “full-spectrum
lighting has colour rendition that is much closer to natural light than fluorescent lighting”
(White, 2009).
Torky et al. (2013), propose using natural light through clerestory windows to avoid
noise effects as well as surrounding distractions. Furthermore, avoiding industrial lighting
types like fluorescent that have flickers is also suggested. Thus, in this case, natural light
can be brought in by allowing proper orientation of the openings with the least possibility
of glare inside. Proper natural light infiltration into the room or space can be conducted
through designing skylights and tall sided windows as White (2009) suggests.
In conclusion, lighting for ASDs space is very important and it should be taken into
consideration. For that reason, the following points can be considered while deciding
about the lighting in spaces for ASDs:
1 Use natural light in every place as much as possible.
2 Avoid flickering artificial sources like fluorescent lights.
3 Conceal light sources which give direct light towards the eyes to avoid glare.
4 Use dimmers to adjust the light amount as needed.
5 Use controllable curtains for the side windows to control the amount and direction of
the light.

160 S.S. Shareef and G. Farivarsadri
4 The survey
To test the validity of the above mentioned factors and to see whether they match with
the experiences of the people working in the field, the teachers in Special Education
Centre in Famagusta, Northern Cyprus were asked to answer the questionnaires related to
the effect of colour and light on children with autism. 31 teachers in the centre
participated in the survey. Figure 1 show’s the years of work experiences of these
teachers in the centre.
Figure 1 Teachers’ experience in Special Education Centre (see online version for colours)
4.1 Data analysis of the questionnaires
4.1.1 Colour
As the first part of survey a set of colours (red, yellow, grey, green, blue and white) were
shown to the participants and they were asked to separate the positive and negative
colours for children with autism. As can be seen in Figure 2 most of the teachers (more
than 70% ) believed that each of grey, green, blue and white have a positive impact on
children with autism in the classes when red and yellow have adverse effects on them.
Figure 2 (a) Mentioned colours (b) Positive colours (c) Negative colours (see online version
for colours)
(a) (b)
Source: According to the field study

The impact of colour and light on children with autism in interior spaces 161
Figure 2 (a) Mentioned colours (b) Positive colours (c) Negative colours (continued)
(see online version for colours)
(c)
Source: According to the field study
They also preferred secondary and intermediate cold colours more than primary colours
as well as dull or pale colours, not the strong saturated ones and explained the positive
and negative roles of these colours on people with autism. Figure 3 demonstrates the
acceptable zone of colours mentioned by the majority of the teachers.
Figure 3 Acceptable zone of colour, less saturated, and muted cold colours (see online version
for colours)
Source: URL8 (2013)
4.1.2 Light
Almost half of the teachers accepted that both natural and artificial lighting have effects
on people with autism but they appreciated the use of sunlight whenever possible.
Meanwhile, they believed that in some cases artificial lighting might increase ASDs
concentration on learning, as well they preferred indirect lighting using in both cases. But
80% of the participators stated that applying coloured lighting in autism spaces may
change their perception of the reality. Furthermore, generally (more than 95%) did not
prefer using fluorescent lighting sources because of having flickering and negative
influences on people with autism.

162 S.S. Shareef and G. Farivarsadri
5 Result and discussion
Evaluation of data collected in the field of study and comparing with the information
obtained in the literature survey it was tried to find the matching parts and the
differences. Accordingly, an inclusive checklist (Table 1) has been prepared to be used
by the designers working on this subject.
Table 1 Coinciding and differences between the literature and the field study
Literature Field study
1 Applying secondary colours vs. basic colours Equivalent
2 Using cool colours Equivalent
3 Using neutral colours Equivalent
4 Accepting subdued hues Equivalent
5 Applying less saturated colours Equivalent
6 Avoiding the basic value of colour Equivalent
7 Avoiding warm colours (yellow and red) Equivalent
8 Using natural light as much as possible Equivalent
9 Avoiding fluorescent lighting sources Equivalent
10 Grey colour: has no effects Positive and negative
11 White colour: if it is used alone is negative Positive
12 Blue colour: some ASDs might not see it No information
Grey is reported as a neutral and non-reflective colour which is widely applied in spaces
for people with autism, it is claimed that it has neither a positive nor a negative influence
(Whitehurst, 2006). Blue also is accepted as a colour which can be applied to spaces for
people with autism even though it might not be seen by some of them.
For evaluating the actual effects of white, as it was different in the two sources, four
different families of children with autism were asked about possible effects of white
colour on their children based on their experiments and the result was found to be
negative. Three of the families implied that their children with autism were not happy
with the white colour.
Table 2 Demonstrates the more suitable colours for people with autism as the result of the
studies (see online version for colours)
Values Shades Tints Tones
Blue
Green
Purple
Neutral
colours Cocoa Taupe Grey Cream Ivory

The impact of colour and light on children with autism in interior spaces 163
Preferred light types to be used in spaces for people with autism:
1 Sunlight: Indirect.
2 Tungsten light: Indirect to eyes.
3 LED light: Indirect to eyes with white colour.
6 Conclusions
The evaluation of the literature review and an actual experimentation in the field both
have been employed for understanding what colours and light types should be used in the
spaces for children with autism. It is believed that the teachers of autism schools can also
realise the needs of their students and pupils. In addition, the experiences of families with
ASD children can be very valuable in this sense too.
Design of spaces for people with ASD needs to be based on knowledge about how
these people perceive the world and react to the elements of space. Unfortunately not
many sources are available to architects and designers in this regard. Thus, this study tries
to at least partially fulfil this need for comprehensive information related to the subject by
providing some checklists in relation to two very important elements of space, light and
colour. No need to mention that to have a well-designed space for people with autism all
elements of space and their effects on these users should be considered carefully which
justify the needs for more inclusive and detailed further studies on the subject.
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