If you know anyone with children with autism or additional needs then the news that Tesco are trialling an Autism Quiet Hour will hopefully be of benefit to them.
Jo-Ann D'Costa Manuel, mother of two children and the director of Autism Parent Empower has joined forces with Tesco to introduce an Autism Quiet Hour to her local Crawley branch of Tesco. This is in the hope that eventually all stores will offer this service.
Jo-Ann, who's youngest son has autism, says:
Tesco shopping was always an impossible experience for us due to the sensory overload and lack of public awareness. A recent survey by the National Autistic Society highlighted 75% of parents in the UK feel most isolated in supermarkets due to lack of understanding and sensory discomforts.
During the Quiet Hour at Tesco you will notice several changes, including: Doors at entrance left open, no staff packing shelves, lights dimmed, tannoys turned off, in store music turned off, all staff have undergone initial autism training and briefing, hand dryers in toilets turned off, staff to help pack at the checkout, escalators turned off plus many more.
Autism Parent Empower's aim is to eventually roll 'Quiet Hours' across all retailers nationwide as well as facilitating Autism Awareness training for supermarket staff.
Jo-Ann has partnered with the Tesco Extra in Crawley to trial the first Quiet Hour on Saturday 21st January between 9am-10am continuing every Saturday thereafter.
If you would like to find out more about Autism Parent Empower then click here.
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