Does your autistic child love movies, but finds the booming sound in movie theaters too loud and/or movie theaters too dark? Do you worry about sneaking diet-specific snacks into the theater? Do other movie-goers complain about the noise or movements your child makes? One mother’s solution was to ask the manager of her local AMC Theatre to set aside one screening just for autistic children and their families where they could watch a movie at a lower volume with the lights up, they could bring allergy-free and other diet-specific treats, and the kids could sing, clap, dance and make other noise. The manager agreed, and on the day of the special screening over 300 children and their families showed up! With such an overwhelming response, AMC decided to make this special “sensory-friendly” screening of children’s movies a regular event. Now, in partnership with the Autism Society of America, participating AMC Theatres throughout the U.S. offer once-a-month 10 am matinees of children’s films for children with autism and other special needs, where the volume is lower, the lights are on, it’s okay to bring snacks from home, and kids can feel free to be themselves. Tickets are $4 – $6 depending on the theater. You can find a list of participating theaters as well as the dates of their screenings at autism-society.org. And, if your local AMC Theatre doesn’t host sensory-friendly screening, AMC encourages you to request it by sending an email request to 0411communityrelations@amctheatres.com.
[photo: naydeeyah]
