Two young guests staying at the Alan Shearer Short Break Centre were able to appreciate a specialist autism-friendly screening of Beauty and the Beast at the Odeon Cinema, MetroCentre recently.
As part of the boys’ short break, staff at the Centre took them to the screening for people with autism which is specially designed to adhere to a strict timetable with no adverts for people to sit through, decreased lighting and sound effects and therefore less sensory overload.
People attending these screenings can also get up and walk around, lie down on the floor or shout – activities which would be deemed socially unacceptable in a typical showing.
“One of the challenges for people with an autism spectrum disorder is coping with strong sensory stimulation,” said Short Break Manager Pam Jobling. “They may be overwhelmed and frightened by loud sounds, bright lights, crowds of people, they may flap their hands, fidget, shout out or rock when excited by an event such as a film. This showing, however, was ideal for the boys and their needs. They were able to spend their time choosing sweets to eat during the film, they loved the experience and were well behaved throughout.”