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Intermediate concepts

Personal space

Children with intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorder can sometimes have difficulty understanding how much space they should keep between themselves and other people.

Introduction

Children with intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorder can sometimes have difficulty understanding how much space they should keep between themselves and other people. This is commonly known as personal space.

Some children might find respecting personal space difficult because they like to hug and touch other people to meet sensory needs or show affection. Some children may prefer to be physically distant from other people due to their sensory needs, which may be awkward in social situations.

It’s important to support your child to learn how to recognise and respect both their personal space and the personal space of others so that they can make and maintain healthy relationships and participate safely in the community.

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Conversation Starters

You are standing too close to me; can you show me where your personal space is?

Can you show me how to measure personal space?

How does it make you feel when someone is too close?

Strategies for you to try

Model personal space for your child and verbalise your actions

You are well placed to show your child how they should respect other people’s personal space. Parents and carers need personal space too! If your child gets too close to you, you could say something like: “You are standing a bit too close to me at the moment. I’m putting my arms up to show you how close you are. I’m going to take a step away so that we can both feel comfortable”

Measure personal space in a concrete way

If your child finds it difficult to know if they’re too close to somebody, ask them to hold their arms out to see if they are inside or outside the personal space bubble. You could also try equipment like a hula hoop or drawing a circle on the ground to create a visible boundary.

Use teachable moments

Is there a character on their favourite TV show or movie that gets into other people’s personal space? Use these clips to start a discussion with your child about what they think went wrong with an interaction. This is also a great way to see what your child currently understands about social boundaries.