Time-out or "Resource" Rooms
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At times, students with autism may require a visit to a time-out or "resource" room to allow the child to regain self-control during periods of outburst or frustration. What should these rooms be like in our schools if they must be there? Obviously, they must be durable and sound-isolated. However, most significantly for me as a design professional, these spaces should be separated from the public areas so as to provide the isolated child with greater dignity. Some designers must think our ASD kids do not have awareness or feelings. When friends walk by observing the isolation or outburst, there can be a sense of shame that our secluded child feels. In addition, the distractions that occur to other students in the adjacent corridor or spaces are great. The solution is simple. This room must be located for privacy. This does two things - it removes the audience from the isolated ASD child that at times can be very stimulating, and it removes the disruption from the other students in the adjacent spaces. Too often, my ASD son and I have been in residential hospital settings where the time-out room is located just off of the "living room" - a ridiculous solution to me. The child becomes a show for others as well as caregivers and this may further support the child to act out in further frustration or humiliation. We must at all times remember that inside each of these kids is a heart of gold.
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