Artist Biography
Alison Holmes is an Endicott senior who will earn her bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture this spring. Her knack for organization and attention to detail drew her to the field from an early age and has further sparked her interest in space planning
and functionality. With years of experience working in early childhood education and an affinity for improving our everyday surroundings, she is driven to advance educational and residential spaces moving forward. This passion is seen in her thesis as she designed spaces for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder with the intention of making these spaces feel supportive, familiar, and secure for students who at
times struggle with their environmental responses; all of which are characteristics of what
the comfort of the home should feel like.
Thesis Abstract
Inflexible and crowded spaces, overstimulating surroundings, lack of outdoor exposure, and other outdated design choices hinder the developmental process for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. By entering the strengths of children on the Autism spectrum within their designated learning spaces, through strategies such as spatial considerations, adequate amounts of visual and auditory stimulation, sensory tactics, psychologically beneficial color and materiality choices, and increased associations with nature, interior designers, and environmental psychologists can contribute to a new type of academic experience that better encourages social, emotional, and cognitive development for this group of students.