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Action Research

In order that the design process should fully consider and appreciate the requirements of the children it was necessary for Alex to enage in a process of action research. This was primarily achieved through a series of residencies at schools that  taught children on the autistic spectrum. Through these residencies, Alex was able to meet a range of children in an environment with which they were familiar and comfortable and benefiting from the support of the staff. He was able to observe how they engaged with various aspects of their environment and how various tasks were addressed and achieved within these structures. He documented this through diary notes, drawings, film and photography.

Following an introductory phase, Alex was invited to bring some of his prototype designs into the school and have groups of children engage with them over the course of teh school day. These sessions were documented as video which the whole team were able to reflect on. Invaluable to this part of the research was the input given by school staff who were familiar with the children and able to give insight into their reactions.

The residencies allowed many further design decisions to be made as well as prompting further speculation and discussion on the design of the final environment. Furthermore a network of teachers, parents and support workers was created around the project, without whom the delivery of the final Project may have been impossible.