There are many environmental challenges that lower an individual’s (with ASD) ability to function competently (Motechin, 2013). The sensory issues, elements of perception in particular, can prompt Sam to exhibit negative behaviour such as anxiety and distress. Sam finds it difficult to manage the personal space of others, due to a lack of ability to recognise body language, facial and verbal cues. Many children with ASD are not aware that they are intruding into other personal space. However, they can become extremely upset if they feel that their own space is being invaded (Motechin, 2013).

Sam is always wary of people entering his personal space or touching him unannounced. Sam's often reacts to this invasion negatively including crying, screaming at the individual or physical harm. The teacher makes a concious effort to make class aware of Sam's boundaries to ensure the safety of Sam and the class. Although in situations such as playtime or transition between classes, Sam will require the sensation of touch from his teacher or teacher aide. This only occurs when Sam is in control of the touch and can be observed as a coping mechanism for Sam.

In addition, Sam has a tendency to enter an individual’s personal space when he is in control of the movement. When Sam is engaged in a conversation he often moves into the personal space of others, which can create an uncomfortable situation for the recipient. Sam’s peers will avoid engaging in conversation with Sam because they feel uncomfortable with the intrusion of personal space. This has a negative affect on his ability to form relationships with his peers.

Establishing and understanding space boundaries is one of those all-important skills that comes naturally to some, but must be taught and often cued to students on the autism spectrum. Due to Sam’s lack of body and social awareness, he has difficulty understanding personal space concepts and various relationships. Sam tends to stand too close to people because he cannot measure his proximity to other people and judge personal space. In contrast, Sam finds people invading his own personal space unannounced extremely distressing. Many strategies can be implemented to develop Sam’s awareness of body proximity and make him more aware of the emotions people feel when Sam invades people’s personal space, as well as techniques to handle other people entering his own personal space. These strategies must be explicitly taught to assist Sam to develop skills in behaving appropriately in social settings; for example, he should not go up to strangers and hug them or stand too closely whilst engaging in conversation.

Personal space prompt cards and a social story have been created to assist Sam in understanding the reasons for personal space and personal safety. Quill (n.d.) states that social stories and prompt cards that give children with ASD information about how close to stand to people, who can be hugged and when, how to greet people and other protocols that are followed in school, home and society, are an effective strategy to develop skills in social settings.  Three different prompt cards have been created to address personal space. The first prompt card is two images of two boys inside two individual circles, crossing into each other’s personal space. The image of the boys depicts sad emotions when they are invading each other’s personal space, and there is a message on the back of the card stating the emotion in text and why they are feeling that way. The next card presents an image of two boys in individual circles in their own personal space. The emotions portrayed by these two boys are happy emotions, and the text explains why these boys are feeling happy.

This technique provides an outline of personal space in a visual format. These cards may be introduced along side the social story and the circles poster to explore the importance of personal space and the emotions people feel when personal space is invaded.