The Impact of Nature-Based Outdoor Play Areas on Play and Learning Behaviors of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Nature plays a vital role in the development of children. Unfortunately, not all children follow the same growth curve. A 2023 WHO report found that 1 in 100 children worldwide have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), totaling about 20 million globally. These children often face challenges in sensory integration, impacting communication, learning, social skills, motor development, and stress-related issues. However, many guidelines and design practices discuss only the indoor environment and design guidelines for children with ASD but rarely show any evidence that nature-based outdoor play areas may help to minimize the difficulties experienced by children with ASD. This thesis investigates whether a nature-based outdoor play area has any impact on play and learning behaviors of children with ASD. The investigation was conducted by transforming the existing playground of the Burkhart Center for Autism Education and Research at Texas Tech University by incorporating nature-based learning elements and analyzing before-after data. Three types of data were collected - behavior mapping data of children with ASD using ArcGIS Online and Field Map, survey data from parents and caregivers using Qualtrics, and a focus group discussion with the parents. This research shows that nature interventions in a playground for children with ASD impact their play and learning behaviors, and interactions with other children and adults, and they add value to the everyday experiences of children and adults (parents and caregivers). After the intervention, sensory exploration was 3.9 times higher in the nature-play area, STEAM-related activities rose by 1.6 times, and playing with a group of children increased 3.67 times. Major changes Findings suggest that further research (with a larger sample size, experimental design, and permanent interventions) may add valuable insights for designing learning landscapes for children with ASD.