By: Emil E Jonescu, Talia Uylaki, and Sonja Duric

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to gaps in existing research and design for neurodiverse people and their quality of life. In particular, this paper focuses on custodial typologies (their philosophical position, and design evolution) as facilities designed to detain either sentenced or unsentenced people, over the short or long term.

Historically, criminality was regarded as an illness and treated through segregation, and to varied degrees, crime, morality, mental health, and religion were deemed inextricably connected. Therefore, prisons, mental institutions, hospitals, and ecclesiastical architecture share philosophical and historical infrastructure. Concurrent evolutionary threads of 'new' solutions, philosophies, and architecture particular to confinement were formed through discourse among social reformers. However, prisons have largely overlooked the needs of neurodivergent individuals.

Neurodiversity refers to the natural variation of human brains and includes individuals who have been diagnosed with conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other developmental or intellectual disabilities. Neurodivergent individuals often have unique needs that must be considered in the design and operation of custodial facilities.

Accordingly, this research first undertook a scoping review of online databases and literature to examine, evaluate, and extend on existing peer-reviewed published scholarly literature related to theories, carceral frameworks, and criminality, with a focus on the intersection of neurodiversity and the justice system. The study specifically sought recent and relevant crime and punishment studies.

Secondly, the study conducted a meta-synthesis on an accumulated pool of existing international studies and identified areas of contemporary research, existing gaps, and potential areas of future research for neurodivergent individuals. The findings of this review highlight a general lack spatial research and gaps in existing literature that recognises the complexity of the police ‘lockup’ (a short-term custodial facility for un-sentenced detainees) and its critical function in the criminal justice system, in comparison to other custodial settings that have been studied and have evolved.

Lastly, in examining the extant literature on custodial facilities the study advocates for increased contemporary initiatives and a shift in attitudes that recognise the distinct functions performed by disparate institutions that necessitate different accommodation structures and a distinct functional form. This includes considerations for the unique needs of neurodivergent individuals that are overrepresented in such institutional settings.

X-Potential, V.02 (4), Australia: Hames Sharley.