WALLS
THE CHALLENGE
I've told people that my autistic son's special talent isn't counting cards, like in Rain Man, or magically playing an instrument. My son's talent is kicking holes in drywall. We once tried to estimate how many holes he's kicked and it's probably over a thousand. The pictures above are a FRACTION of his efforts - in some ways, it's quite impressive. And please, before you provide your comments on how he's probably broken bones and maybe that's why he's so angry - we got it. Thanks. Working on that. Not the point of this web page.
PATCHING DRYWALL
There are a lot of good instructions for patching drywall (here, here, here) that I won't repeat. Personally, I've never been good at mudding/taping (despite many opportunities to practice), so this is one area I often ask a handyman to take care of for me. My focus is on keeping the hole from being kicked in the first place!
SECURE WALLS
We've built a sort of apartment suite for our son to give him some independence and privacy, and we decided to use 1/2" plywood and 1/4" beadboard on the walls. This gives it 3/4" of wood on the wall and the exterior beadboard looks nice and can be painted or stained (as you can see below, we've done both!). We treat it just like drywall (4' x 8' sheets cut to fit). The only thing you have to account for is a thicker surface for your electrical junction boxes. You can use electrical box extenders with longer screws to account for this. We also used 2-1/2" screws for mounting everything into the studs instead of nails. He has a tendency to slam doors (another talent!) with enough force to dislodge nails over time, so screws will help the sheets of plywood stay secure for the long run.
PADDED WALLS
For areas that are particularly likely for our son to kick (like around his bed), we've added padded walls using 2" foam mounted to 1/2" plywood and secured with spray adhesive and fabric to match the wall paint. We've also used this on doors that he especially goes after. Just cut the plywood to the size you need (preferably with a table saw), cut the foam about an inch shorter on each side, spray the adhesive on the plywood, carefully wrap the fabric around the foam and wood (we usually put the fabric on the floor and then pull it tight), and use a staple gun to secure the fabric to the back of the plywood.
