Presenting an Analytical Model for Recognizing and Evaluating the Environmental Indicators Influencing the Increase in social interactions of children with autism in Educational Centers Using Analytic Hierarchy Process

Autism spectrum disorder is a pervasive abnormality in nervous system accompanied by defections in thinking, emotion and feeling, speaking and the ability of communication with others hence leading to the reduction in the interaction level of individuals with autism. In order to create an integrated process for enhancing the social interactions in children with autism, the therapeutic interventions should be conducted by the assistance of proper architectural designing and through considering the role of environmental variables in satisfying the needs of children with autism. Thus, the recognition of the architectural indicators influencing the enhancement of social interactions in the children with autism and evaluation and prioritization of them in architectural designing of these centers seem important. The present article aimed at recognizing and offering an analytical model consisted of environmental indices influencing the enhancement of social interactions in children with autism for prioritizing these indices in designing of educational environments. a descriptive-analytical method was used in this study and the data has been collected in two stages: in the first stage, the study background and theoretical foundations have been compiled using library and documentary research following which the main scales and subscales were identified; then, using the scales found in the first stage, a four-level analytical model was offered comprised of the environmental indices influencing the increase in the social interaction in the children with autism. Afterwards, a questionnaire was prepared using Expert Choice program and it was administered to 15 specialists, including psychologists, occupational therapists and instructors of children with autism. Then, the obtained scales and subscales were rated using analytic hierarchy process and pairwise comparisons. In the end, the autism schools of Qazvin, Zanjan, and Tabriz were selected on which the criteria were evaluated. Finally, the study results indicated that “spatial organization” and “natural elements”, with weights equal to 0.42 and 0.32, respectively, had the highest effect inter alia the studied principles and scales on the enhancement on the social interaction level of children with autism in educational environments.