The intervention I am proposing involves a redesign of the traditional classroom layout to create a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for students with invisible disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, anxiety, and sensory processing challenges. Traditional classroom settings—with rigid desk arrangements, limited personal space, and high sensory stimulation, such as lighting and acoustics, can pose significant obstacles to meaningful engagement, levels of comfort, and academic achievement for these students.
By replacing traditional rows of desks/tables with a more fluid, modular setup that encourages movement, choice, and small group collaboration. Desks and chairs should be easily movable, allowing students to adjust their personal space based on comfort and activity demands. This approach can reduce stress and supports self-regulation. Applying approaches that have engaged for some time in commercial workplace design feels like a good place to start. Gail Napell, a sustainability and inclusive design strategist at Gensler, Interior Architecture firm, has answers. ‘Inclusive design makes spaces and places healthier, safer and more convenient for everyone”
“Inclusive design goes that extra step,’ continues Napell, ‘to say, “Let’s look at all the aspects of a human being – not just our physical size and shape, but also mobility, age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, cognitive abilities or disabilities.”
Integrating commercial workplace design principles such as designated breakout areas within the classroom to enable small group work, peer collaboration, or one-on-one instruction with teachers/lecturers. These areas have been found (in commercial workspace environments) to promote personalised learning and offer quieter, low-pressure spaces where students can decompress or engage in focused interaction.
Where possible, I would hope to include sound-absorbing materials (e.g., carpeted areas, acoustic panels, fabric-covered or acoustic display boards) into the classroom landscape, to reduce ambient noise, which can cause discomfort for students with sensory sensitivities. Similarly, materials, furnishings and lighting should be sourced to minimise glare, harsh lighting, and visual clutter. A neutral palette (on walls and throughout furnishings) can promote a calmness to the environment, encouraging focus and emotional well-being.
References
Goodwin, M (2020) Making the invisible visible: Let’s discuss Invisible disabilities, ERIC Educational Resources Centre. Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1294871.pdf (Accessed: 27 May 2025).
Moriña, A. (2016) ‘Inclusive education in higher education: challenges and opportunities’, European Journal of Special Needs Education, 32(1), pp. 3–17. doi: 10.1080/08856257.2016.1254964.
Díaz-Jiménez, R. M., Yerga-Míguez, M. D., Relinque Medina, F., & Granados Martínez, C. (2025). Inclusion pyramid for university students with intellectual disabilities: input from the university community in European countries. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2025.2486534
Jansen, D., Petry, K., Ceulemans, E., Noens, I., & Baeyens, D. (2016). Functioning and participation problems of students with ASD in higher education: which reasonable accommodations are effective? European Journal of Special Needs Education, 32(1), 71–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2016.1254962
Moore, E. (2023) Making workspaces inclusive through design, ArchDaily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/1002463/making-workspaces-inclusive-through-design (Accessed: 26 May 2025).
Hi Sarah
I hope that you are well. Thank you for sharing your intervention design ideas. There are quite a few things I like including a well-articulated design rationale for changing physical learning environments, a clear focus on invisible disabilities (ASD, ADHD, anxiety, sensory processing), attention to student wellbeing and autonomy, and the effort to incorporate industry practices into the student experience. By focusing on classroom layout and environmental features like sensory regulation, flexible movement, and spatial autonomy, you’re tackling a frequently overlooked, yet crucial, barrier to participation for neurodivergent students, so this aligns well with LO4. You may want to highlight the idea that the design of learning spaces is never neutral, so it can invite participation or reinforce exclusion (LO2).
Your voice comes across as confident and purposeful, but going forward, in terms of LO3 it would help to reflect a bit more on your positionality; for example, what ideas, experiences or observations motivate your design choices and why a focus on the neurodivergent experiences. Articulating this would strengthen the ethical/philosophical grounding of your practice. In terms of LO1, it’d be good to consider how your intervention aligns with/responds to/ critiques/ considers/builds on guidance on inclusive practices from UAL, sector frameworks (e.g. Advance HE), ongoing debates (freedom of expression, decolonisation), to help demonstrate LO1.
Finally, to strengthen your intervention, I wonder how you could include the student voice and an element of co-design. While the intervention is designed for neurodivergent students, they aren’t currently positioned as collaborators in the design process. This creates a risk of designing about inclusion rather than with those most affected. The current intervention is framed around disability/sensory accessibility, but intersectional identities are not explored. How might different aspects of identify (e.g. race, gender, class, or religion) interact with sensory needs or spatial marginalisation?, which would broaden and enhance your intervention.
There are some resources below you may find useful and I’ve included the learning outcomes too to provide a focus for the reflective report when you come to it.
Regards, Victor
Potentially useful resources
Ramadan (2022): Explores how Muslim women navigate institutional space and identity—useful for thinking about space as culturally situated.
Aziz (1997): Critiques feminist spaces that overlook racial and religious identities.
Bayeck (2022): positionality but also understanding how space, identity, and power interact in educational settings.
Schiffer (2020): positionality and reflexivity
Ahmed (2019) in What’s the Use?: how institutional habits reproduce exclusivity even in well-meaning reforms.
Malcolm, F. (2021) Silencing and Freedom of Speech in UK Higher Education
Below, just a reminder of the learning outcomes.
LO1: Critically evaluate institutional, national and global perspectives of equality and diversity in relation to your academic practice context. [Enquiry]
LO2: Manifest your understanding of practices of inequity, their impact, and the implications for your professional context. [Knowledge]
LO3: Articulate the development of your positionality and identity through the lens of inclusive practices. [Communication]
LO4: Enact a sustainable transformation that applies intersectional social justice within your practice. [Realisation]