ABSTRACT
Autism is a developmental disorder that leads to a different and characteristic pattern of perceiving, thinking and learning. To dcsign a supportive learning environment for autism, it is necessary to understand behavioral pattern of children and its relation with the physical environment. The present study employs an evidence based research method to explore the impact of environmental settings on education for children with autism. There are several stages to this study; identify, refine and validatc. First, an analysis of children' s behavior in educational spaces identified ' eighteen environmental design parameters ' that are enabling for autism. These design parameters are tested in the subsequent stages to provide evidence
based body of knowledge to design autism hiendly spaces that are inclusive of other children. The present study examines many inter-related aspects , education across ages, disability and cultures. This paper discusses the research process as well as some results from educational settings in the USA and India.
