Living with Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Families,Homes and the Disruption of Space

Geographical perspectives on the relationships between people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD), their home carers and the nature of domestic space are rare. People with an ASD have high levels of anxiety and a range of behaviours that create challenges for family carers. Interviews with forty carers in Sydney reveal how disruptive behaviours, including being noisy, hyperactive, obsessive and controlling, are very demanding for all carers. Carers have adapted home spaces, restricted and reduced patterns of employment and socialisation, and sometimes avoided the home, altering relationships between parents and other siblings. Home care for people with ASD has reduced the sense of home as a place of relaxation peace and stability, and, while providing a more caring environment for people with ASD, has contributed to the partial institutionalisation of the home.