AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)
The National Autistic Society says a growing number of retailers are making efforts to cater to those with the condition.
Joe Holdsworth gets as excited about toys at this time of year as any five-year old boy. But the actual experience of shopping for toys has not always been as much fun.
He is one of an estimated 700,000 people in the UK diagnosed with autism.
Like many of those diagnosed with autism the sights and sounds of a busy shop, which for other people might seem nothing more than irritating, can cause Joe a great deal of stress.
"It can be really difficult because he can get really overwhelmed by things, all the sensory things in stores," says his mother Victoria, who lives near Leeds with her husband Brett and two other children, Charlie, 11 and Joe's twin sister Emily.
"Obviously every parent feels the pressure to have their children behave in public, but certainly when you've got a child who's developmentally delayed and can't always understand discipline," she explains, "it's not that simple to say to him 'stop doing that Joe.'
"He might not understand, he may not be able to control it at all."
Several years ago Victoria decided she had to do something to help make family shopping trips more enjoyable, and began asking the shops she wanted to visit with her children if they could help her.
The manager at her local Toys R Us, Geoff Robinson, first met the "very enthusiastic" mother of three kids back in 2013.
And he soon arranged for his store to open one hour early on a Sunday before Christmas.
He had staff dim the lights, switch off the tannoys, turn down the music and noisy displays, and even cut power for the hand dryers, to avoid the kinds of stimuli that can be oppressive for kids like Joe.
"You want to feel it's a comfortable place to come and shop," says Mr Robinson of his decision to work with autistic customers.
"They've got the same money to spend as we all have, and just to sit at home online doesn't given them the benefit to interact with the staff and play with the toys."
Image Caption: The National Autistic Society's VR video showing what it's like to have autism
Mr Robinson's staff now receive training from the National Autistic Society, which this year introduced a campaign to make the public more aware of what it is like to have autism.
It included a Virtual Reality video of a 10-year old autistic boy that shows how seemingly innocuous sights and sounds in a shopping centre can dramatically increase his stress levels until he suffers a meltdown in front of his worried mother.
Chief Executive Mark Lever has welcomed the Toys R Us initiative, and says it is part of a growing effort by UK retailers to offer autism friendly shopping sessions.
Especially during the busy holiday period these businesses have realised, he says, that it can expand their potential customer base.
"There are 700,000 people on the spectrum who are not arguably using those services and those businesses because of their autism, that actually it makes good business sense as well."
Source: Shops offering autism friendly sessions
The National Autistic Society says a growing number of retailers are making efforts to cater to those with the condition.
Joe Holdsworth gets as excited about toys at this time of year as any five-year old boy. But the actual experience of shopping for toys has not always been as much fun.
He is one of an estimated 700,000 people in the UK diagnosed with autism.
Like many of those diagnosed with autism the sights and sounds of a busy shop, which for other people might seem nothing more than irritating, can cause Joe a great deal of stress.
"It can be really difficult because he can get really overwhelmed by things, all the sensory things in stores," says his mother Victoria, who lives near Leeds with her husband Brett and two other children, Charlie, 11 and Joe's twin sister Emily.
"Obviously every parent feels the pressure to have their children behave in public, but certainly when you've got a child who's developmentally delayed and can't always understand discipline," she explains, "it's not that simple to say to him 'stop doing that Joe.'
"He might not understand, he may not be able to control it at all."
Several years ago Victoria decided she had to do something to help make family shopping trips more enjoyable, and began asking the shops she wanted to visit with her children if they could help her.
The manager at her local Toys R Us, Geoff Robinson, first met the "very enthusiastic" mother of three kids back in 2013.
And he soon arranged for his store to open one hour early on a Sunday before Christmas.
He had staff dim the lights, switch off the tannoys, turn down the music and noisy displays, and even cut power for the hand dryers, to avoid the kinds of stimuli that can be oppressive for kids like Joe.
"You want to feel it's a comfortable place to come and shop," says Mr Robinson of his decision to work with autistic customers.
"They've got the same money to spend as we all have, and just to sit at home online doesn't given them the benefit to interact with the staff and play with the toys."
Image Caption: The National Autistic Society's VR video showing what it's like to have autism
Mr Robinson's staff now receive training from the National Autistic Society, which this year introduced a campaign to make the public more aware of what it is like to have autism.
It included a Virtual Reality video of a 10-year old autistic boy that shows how seemingly innocuous sights and sounds in a shopping centre can dramatically increase his stress levels until he suffers a meltdown in front of his worried mother.
Chief Executive Mark Lever has welcomed the Toys R Us initiative, and says it is part of a growing effort by UK retailers to offer autism friendly shopping sessions.
Especially during the busy holiday period these businesses have realised, he says, that it can expand their potential customer base.
"There are 700,000 people on the spectrum who are not arguably using those services and those businesses because of their autism, that actually it makes good business sense as well."
Source: Shops offering autism friendly sessions
