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intu Uxbridge to launch first UK-wide Autism Hour
Shops and businesses in Uxbridge are to take part in the National Autistic Society’s first UK wide ‘Autism Hour’ following its launch at intu Uxbridge on Monday.
intu Uxbridge is one of 14 intu shopping centres up and down the country launching the week-long event by reducing its music, lights and other background noise for an hour on 2 October at 10am
More shops and business across the town and the rest of UK will follow intu’s lead by taking sixty minutes during the week to create better environments for autistic customers.
It extends work already in place at intu Uxbridge to provide staff with autism-aware customer service training and autistic people can also download guides that allow them to plan and enjoy a visit to the centre at intu.co.uk/Uxbridge.
Natasha House at intu Uxbridge said: “We will be dimming the lights and turning down the sound at intu Uxbridge on Monday as part of our commitment to create more autism-friendly shopping experiences.
“With over a million customers visiting intu centres across the country each day, it is important that we provide spaces and environments that are welcoming to all and that will help our retailers to flourish.
“intu is already well known for the support offered to autistic customers, which includes specially-trained staff and autism-friendly guides to many of our centres. The National Autistic Society approached us to launch autism hours in our centres as a result of this work and our on-going partnership.”
This is the first attempt, as part of the National Autistic Society’s Too Much Information campaign, to create a national event, where shops and services help to reduce the overload that autistic people can experience in public. Over 4,500 stores have signed up to in National Autistic Society’s Autism Hour across the UK.
People in Uxbridge were given the chance to find out what an autistic person can experience in a shopping centre last summer when a virtual reality experience created by the National Autistic Society visited intu Uxbridge as part of a national tour.
Mark Lever, Chief Executive at the National Autistic Society, said: “The National Autistic Society is proud to be launching the first ever UK wide Autism Hour event and is thrilled that it’s involving such a vast number of shops and businesses.
“A National Autistic Society survey found that 64% of autistic people avoid going to the shops, and 28% have been asked to leave a public place for reasons associated with their autism. We are confident that the National Autistic Society’s Autism Hour will provide an opportunity for autistic people and their families to use shops and services that the general public take for granted.
“We are encouraging autistic adults, children and their families to head to the interactive map on our website so they can plan visits to local shops and businesses and enjoy a break from the overload of too much information.”
Visit: www.autism.org.uk/autismhour to find out which stores in Uxbridge are taking part.