Personal and Social Space

Cathy Purple Cherry, AIA

Children and adults with special-needs often have difficulty understanding personal space requirements between themselves and other individuals. This misunderstanding of the necessary personal space needed between two individuals can lead to intense conflict when the individual with special needs crosses or enters the personal space of the second individual. As children, we learned how to interact with others, to take turns, and that there existed a distance from which we should stand away from people depending upon our familiarity with them. We also learned the appropriate behaviors of what to do or how to react when others entered our personal space. Many children and adults with special needs are not aware of this social dance. They frequently come too close to other individuals causing an invasion of privacy and true discomfort. A simple example of this is when an individual with special needs sees an object he or she desires to touch, walks towards the object while reaching out for it, and crosses a second individual literally touching that other person thus changing the path on which the second individual was focused on taking. This direct contact can lead to a basic feeling of disrespect or, in the extreme, an explosive event. This invasion of personal space combined with communication difficulties can make the situation even worse.

In my own personal home with three children, explosive situations may happen many times during the course of a day. Our son Matthew is multiply disabled with autism and other challenges. His greatest success comes when we aid him with constant verbal prompts to move him through spaces where our other two children are located. It is not unusual for Matthew to enter the working kitchen area where others are gathered and attempt to push his way through on a mission to get what he wants without communicating a request or expressing a polite “excuse me”. For our younger children, this may lead to a heightened and anxious environment and on to a vocal explosion. For us as parents, there is constant effort put forth towards avoiding these explosive situations. Even with attempts to teach and reinforce necessary distances, the invasion of personal space occurs.

In having a full awareness of this struggle that individuals with special-needs face every day, we design spaces and place objects in such a way as to reduce the potential for “path crossing”. Corridors and work areas are made wider. Workstations and frequently visited objects are positioned in such a way as to reduce conflict. Signage and path coloration used as visual clues additionally help individuals with special needs. When we have a greater understanding of our client and user needs, we can integrate strategies to assist with personal space issues.

© Purple Cherry Architects 2008