Shopping can be super stressful–there’s the anxiety that you need to find something you need (or worse, a gift for someone and you have no idea what to get)–and there’s the crowds of people. This can be especially hard for people who have autism. This is why I love the fact that Toys R Us locations in the United Kingdom are implementing a quiet hour for parents of kids who have autism.
Toys R Us marketing director Mike Coogan elaborated on the new policy in The Telegraph:
“Making slight adjustments to stores and creating a quiet shopping period allows children and young adults to experience the fun in a toy shop, regardless of their disability.”
This will go in effect on November 6. The changes include dimmer lights, reduced use of fluorescent lighting, less in-store music, and no loud speaker announcements. In addition, store employees will also put up autism-friendly signs and create quiet zones. How awesome does this sound? For many families who have family members with autism, this is life changing.
Daniel Cadey, autism access manager for the National Autistic Society, explained how important this is:
“For many autistic people and their families a simple trip to the shops, which should be an enjoyable experience, can be fraught with difficulty. Autistic children and adults can become overwhelmed with too much information inside a busy store.”
How can you not support this change? Since Toys R Us is an American-based company, I sincerely hope U.S. stores adopt this change as well. It would definitely make shopping for Hanukkah a lot easier, for instance.
Read More:
Bracing Myself Against My Son’s Severe Mental Illness
Why I Don’t Want My Children to Grow Up in a Safe Space
Orthodox Women Take On ‘Vagina Monologues’ & Make it Their Own
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Joanna Valente is the former Staff Writer at Kveller. Joanna is the author of Sirs & Madams, The Gods Are Dead, Xenos, and Marys of the Sea, and received an MFA at Sarah Lawrence College. You can follow @joannasaid on Twitter and @joannacvalente on Instagram.
