90.5 WESA: Three years ago, Aasta Deth of Natrona Heights took her family to Kennywood Park. Her son Sam was 3 years old, and had recently been diagnosed with autism. Sam is particularly sensitive to noise stimulation, which sometimes leads to meltdowns.
The trip to Kennywood wasn't very positive, Deth said. The family was still learning how to adjust their social outings to accomodate Sam's recent diagnosis. Deth said Sam was very overwhelmed by the noise, lights and crowds at the amusement park. Standing in line was also a challenge because Sam has trouble staying still.
4 comments:
Wow, what an inspirational articles. I am so happy to read that last week Kennywood was designated as a Certified Autism Center by the International Board of Credentialing and continuing Education Standards. It’s amazing to know that the Kennywood staff has been trained to properly interact with kids and adults on the autism spectrum. I also love the fact that Kennywood is putting together a sensory guide booklet for visitors with autism and families. This will be beneficial because people on the spectrum have higher sensitivity to sights and sounds and other sensory experiences. Having a guide as to where there are more and less sounds within the park can be a very helpful device for the parents of these kids. In addition, the sensory guide Kennywood is adding a QUIET ROOM. Like wow. I’m so happy reading this article. The fact that a amusement park is willing to accommodate people who would like to attend but can’t be in an overwhelming sensory experience for a long time that is awesome.
I have been doing a lot of reading lately about broad-scale institutional pushes for inclusion, specifically for people with disabilities and sensory sensitivity. The major point is that everyone should be able to participate in whatever everyone else is doing. In some places, that means making sure voting poll locations are accessible for people with limited mobility. At Kennywood, that means creating an infrastructure within which people who interact with the world differently can operate. Overall, there has been a lot of traction with organizations and employees, but I think that (as the article hints at) other consumers are likely to complain and push back. My hope is that unapologetic, unwavering institutional support for people with disabilities will filter through to consumers and become universal. In the meantime, in the live entertainment industry, we have people writing articles about how trigger warnings somehow take away from their experience of the show and cater to a weak, pathetic generation.
It is really good to see that Kennywood is doing this. It can make a big different for people to have access to sensory breaks and be able to have a better idea of what to expect in order to plan their visit in a way that works for them. In general, we as a society need to improve when it comes to accessibility, especially when it comes to people who have invisible disabilities, are neurodivergent, or have other needs that people are less familiar with. I am curious how effective this options at Kennywood are for people, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this addition improves over time. I really hope that this information is easy to find so it can actually help people, and they find ways to make the park more and more accessible as time goes on. I’m always skeptical of new accessibility programs since I find if the program is designed by able bodied people it tends to not have thought through all the necessary details, but as long as Kennywood is committed to seeing this as just the beginning and improve the program based on guest feedback, it seems promising in the long run.
As places with huge crowds and loud noises, amusement parks can be overwhelming for any one, even those not on the spectrum. I can’t image how many triggers might exist for autistic individuals in such an excited environment. It is inspiring that such a quintessential part of Pittsburgh is finding ways to continue reaching out to the community and open itself to encompass more of the city’s residents. Hopefully this can be inspiring to other parks as well. Given how simple the things that would help out a family or group with an autistic member, other places should take note and see how easy it would be to be just that much more inclusive. The biggest thing to the family featured in the article is just a space to step aside for a moment, being it a place to wait in line separately or a separated space to destimulate. Smoker’s zones are not uncommon to find in many amusement parks. The last time I was at Six Flags, I spotted at least two. If you can put up a sign and mark out a zone on the floor for smokers, you can sure find a calmer area of the park and designated a destress zone for autistic visitors and their families.
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