Indoor Thermal Requirements of People with Autism Spectrum Condition: Preliminary Results from a Controlled Environment Study

People with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) exhibit particular sensitivity to sensory stimuli. These peculiarities in the sensorial perception might lead to different needs in terms of the indoor environment. Nevertheless, very few studies on the topic have been performed, consequently leading to a lack of information about this population in standards and guidelines on building design. This paper will report the preliminary results of a pioneer study on indoor well-being of autistic people. In office-like environments, a group of 10 autonomous people with ASC and a matched control group of 14 neurotypical people were exposed to six different combinations of temperature and natural/artificial light. During two-hour sessions, subjective evaluations of the indoor environment were collected by means of questionnaires. Simultaneously, measurements of the indoor environment were made. The present study compares thermal and Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) preferences, as well as the elements generating thermal dissatisfaction of the two groups. The results show a higher disturbance of the ASC group caused by warmer conditions, artificial light and noise, as well as higher levels of local thermal discomfort. The results may contribute to developing criteria for optimum design of indoor environments to be used by autistic people.