Safety and security
There are multiple issues related to the safety and security of neurodivergant residents and those with learning disabilities in the home that are exacerbated by adaptive behaviours, sensory seeking and lack of awareness of danger. There are several design strategies that can contribute to mitigating these risks.
Safety and security
Issues and adaptive behaviours
Unaware of danger. Running out onto busy roads. Absconding.
Climbing and falling from balconies.
Design strategies
• Avoid front doors of ground floor dwellings opening directly onto the street.
• Provide secure entrances to buildings with multiple dwellings.
• Provide lockable doors and windows to prevent absconding.
• Provide door and window sensors to receive an alert every time door or window opens and closes.
• Provide coded door locks to private entrances.
• Secure locking system for balcony doors.
• Louvered ventilation panels to maximise ventilation avoiding opening balcony doors.
• Consider winter gardens as an alternative to balconies.
• Enclose balconies using solid balustrades and lockable sliding panels.
Climbing out of windows. • Secure locking systems for windows.
• Louvered ventilation panel to maximise ventilation avoiding opening windows.
Unaware of harm from hot surfaces.
Fascination with water and water play, causing flooding.
Increased risk of slips, trips and falls.
• Separate the kitchen from living areas, for example through sliding or pocket doors.
• Provide lockable controls on hobs.
• Locate hob and oven isolator / control switches out of sight and out of reach.
• Prioritise underfloor heating systerm.
• Provide protective covers for radiators to prevent injury.
• Specify timed cut-off on taps.
• Specify timed cut-off on showers.
• Specificy flip plugs that prevent overflow.
• Specify durable and waterproof flooring.
• Provide slip resistance flooring in wet areas( eg. rubber or vinyl flooring.
Figure two: Safety and security: issues and design solutions
Attendance at resident advisory groups, provider forums and a user-led group for older carers of residents with learning disabilities gave us the chance to learn from residents about what was important to them in terms of housing design.
Drawing on co-production approaches we hosted workshops with the residents and their families from both groups. These workshops were facilitated and documented by Newham staff and members of the team, using accessible communication tools to support engagement.
The workshops proved to be a rich source of detail and narrative around the themes identified from the literature review. Learning from individuals and families with lived experience about their coping strategies related to sensory overload and behaviours that challenge suggested potential design solutions.
Project outputs
The combined learning from residents and evidence based good practice contributed to a project report, Report on the housing design needs of neurodivergent residents and residents with learning disabilities in Newham( 2025), and design guide, Housing Design Needs of neurodivergent residents and residents with learning disabilities in Newham: Design Guide( 2025), created in collaboration with the planning team.
The design guide outlines issues and design solutions organised around the key themes and provides examples from housing design and good practice guidance identified from the literature review.
Strategies to address risk seeking behaviours, such as running out into busy roads, was a primary concern( see figure two).
14 OTnews September 2025