Sunshine Coast building and interior designer, Maria Faalafi, got crippling migraines when she was renovating a house but didn’t know what was causing them.
She was diagnosed with a neurological disorder, called chronic vestibular migraines, which greatly improved when she changed her physical environments.
Maria Faalafi PHOTO: Magda Hunt of Impulse Photography
Migraines involve atypical sensory processing, so the condition is on the neurodivergent spectrum.
People with other types of sensory sensitivity or the more severe Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) are also considered neurodivergent (though not necessarily autistic).
According to Psychology Today, the latest statistics show it’s much more likely for a person to experience sensory processing issues than autism.
According to Dr Ainsley Hawthorn, writing in Psychology Today: ‘While about one in 45 adults and one in 54 children in the United States are autistic, as many as one in six children may have SPD’.
Sensory issues are common in children PHOTO: Caleb Woods
So it’s not just people with autism who may be distressed in certain environments. Individuals with sensory sensitivity, migraines and a range of neurological conditions can be deeply affected by the design of their physical surroundings.
When Ms Faalafi realised physical environments caused her migraines, she went on a deep dive and discovered how everything from colours to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) in paint to fluorescent lights can harm the physical and emotional health of a wide range of people.
She learned about the field of neurodesign which combines science, architecture and psychology to create physical spaces that are good for the humans inside them.
Everyone affected to different degrees
‘Bad design affects everyone but they might not be aware of it,’ said Ms Faalafi. ‘I am one of the sensitive people like the canary in the cage.’
‘Overstimulating or toxic environments not only damage your health ‒ they can affect your cognitive function, mood and ability to learn.
‘Some people go into fight or flight mode when they are in a state of overstimulation or hyper-arousal because their nervous system is affected.
‘Shopping centres are the worst for me. Sometimes I wear a hat and special glasses to filter out the noise and light.’
Ms Faalafi says overstimulating environments are a particular problem for children with neurological disorders such as ADHD and autism.
‘Kids are getting punished for reactions they are having to the school environment which can be overstimulating and make them feel panicky and stressed,’ she said.
‘My daughter has ADHD. She is in Grade Two and has come from school crying because it’s too much for her with kids yelling and being expected to sit through all the noises. She gets sensory overload.’
This year Ms Faalafi and her builder husband are using her new knowledge to renovate their Buderim Queenslander as a showcase of neurodesign.
Maria Faalafi and her husband are making their home a healthy design showcase PHOTO: Maria Faalafi
They renovated their daughter’s room by decluttering toys, painting calming colours with low VOC paints and using wallpaper with a twig and leaf design ‘to bring nature in’. They installed a swing where their little girl can chill out when emotions are high and curtained the bed for a feeling of safety.
Ms Faalafi has noticed a big difference in her daughter since the redesign.
‘Before we redecorated, her bedroom looked like a bomb hit it. It was cluttered with too many toys. She was too overwhelmed to tidy up. She was scared of it and didn’t want to go in there.
‘Now she loves her new room and spends a lot more time in there. She reads more and keeps her room tidier. Her marks have improved at school and she is more organised.’
Maria Faalafi and her family PHOTO Magda Hunt of Impulse Photography
Growing interest in neurodesign
Ms Faalafi has used what she learned to start a new business, The Healthy Building Designer where she’s on a mission to raise awareness of how home and workplace design affects people’s physical and emotional health.
While businesses like these are still fairly new, interest in neurodesign in the marketing and academic fields is increasing.
The University College of London recently announced it is partnering with the Research Institutes of Sweden, to explore how the human brain interacts with built environments.
In the field of product development, neurodesign is used to influence how consumers respond to everything from exercise apps to soft drink cans.
What about public spaces?
Experts say while neurodesign may be right for places used exclusively by neurodivergent people, the principles of Universal Design (UD) should be a priority in public spaces.
Dr Dorina Pojani is an Associate Professor of Urban Planning at The University of Queensland’s School of Architecture. She says public spaces should be designed for the full diversity of the human race.
‘I’d like to move away from the idea of designing spaces for one category unless the space is only for neurodivergent people,’ Dr Pojani said.
‘I stress the concept of Universal Design which is making spaces inclusive for everyone.
‘A lot of interior and exterior spaces have in mind an idealised subject ‒ often male, able-bodied, and tall ‒ the perfect human being from Greek classical antiquity.
‘We’ve designed around that ideal that’s rarely encountered in daily life.’
Dr Pojani said the idea of designing for sensory sensitivity could be included in UD and applied to public as well as private spaces.
‘There are people who have sensory sensitivity to car or motorbike horns. The design of horns assumes all humans should be able to withstand that sound and that’s what we need to move away from.’
According to Sensoryhealth.org and other researchers, it’s estimated that while one in 20 people may have the more severe Sensory Processing Disorder, 15 to 20 per cent of the population are highly sensitive.
Sensitivity to certain sounds is common. PHOTO Ketut Subiyanto
Dr Kelsey Chapman is a Research Fellow at Griffith University’s Inclusive Futures program. She says neurodesign is related to the universal principles of good design and can apply to everything from public transport to school classrooms.
‘It’s inclusion. For example, public transport is not just about conveyance. In the neurodivergent space, train stations can be loud and busy so can we look at sound reduction and examine the sensory experience?
‘Inclusive design can be low sensory impact but it can also be passive behaviour support such as bringing in the natural environment to calm and invigorate. It’s creating grounded experiences.
‘Our program has a psychologist working with school students on co-designing their environments to reduce behaviours of concern,’ Dr Chapman said.
Inclusive design for 2032 games
‘There are big levers for inclusive design, including the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics in Brisbane,’ Dr Chapman said.
‘Inclusive design is a valid approach and it’s only going to increase.’
While inclusive design has different applications in public and private spaces, designers like Maria Faalafi believe neurodesign principles are good for everyone, regardless of whether they have sensory sensitivity or are neurodivergent.
‘The principles of neurodesign are simplicity and moderation,’ said Ms Faalafi.
‘For example, reducing the amount of objects on display has a calming effect because the more things you have on display, the more your brain has to process when you see them.
Neurodesign principles are simplicity and moderation. PHOTO: Maria Faalafi
‘Books can be put away apart from a few chosen ones. It’s the same with toys.’
She says if people have sensory issues, it’s important to educate people around them.
‘People might think you are being over sensitive but I say if you are having a negative reaction to your physical environment, trust it.
‘For example, the constant flickering of fluorescent lights stresses the brain. I ask my Mum to turn off certain lights before I come over because I will become ill within seconds of being exposed to them.’
Fluorescent lights are a major culprit. PHOTO Nadine Shaabana
A Mum’s point of view
Wide Bay Mum Brea Martin said applying neurodesign to public spaces would have a big impact for her seven year old son Bodhi who has ADHD and autism.
‘Sensory issues can be such a massive thing,’ Ms Martin said. ‘Bodhi spirals at shopping centres with the fluorescent lights, hustle and bustle and sound of trolleys screeching on the floor.
‘He’ll be shaking from all the energy around him which he’s actually taking in.
‘The emotional and mental health of every single one of us in society is important.
‘Universal design needs to be at the forefront of everyone’s minds because the way a lot of public spaces are designed at the moment is just not working.
‘It’s amazing that neurodesign is being talked about. It could change millions of peoples’ lives for the better.’
For more information check out:
Sensory safety in the workplace
PHOTO at top of story of woman looking through string lights by Lloyd Newman
This news feature was supported by the Local and Independent News Association (LINA).
