Autistic Inclusive Meets Sensory Room Blog

Below is a blog from Autistic Inclusive Meets, who were very kindly invited to watch Charlton's fixture against Mansfield Town game from the comfort of The Valley's Sensory Room...

The box was well equipped with lots of sensory toys, comfortable bean bags and padded mats. 

There were additional thoughtful touches such as ear defenders to help our attendees manage the noise levels which were extremely helpful as one of the families had forgotten to bring theirs so it helped tremendously to have them to use.

There were also chewy tubes for our oral stimmers, some autistic individuals chew and bite things to soothe themselves so again, it helped that they were supplied and they allowed our attendees stay grounded and regulated. One great thing was that we were able to keep the chewies at the end, allowing the attendees to have an additional memento to remember the day.

Autistic individuals experience the environment differently to neurotypical people, it can be very challenging for us to access public spaces, the inclusion and accommodations provided by Charlton made this possible for us.

We had a wonderful view of the game, we didn't feel excluded from it and the safety of being inside ensured that we were warm and comfortable. 

Thank you to Charlton. The parents of the attendees had this to say:

"The sensory suite was a great experience to watch the match in a calm and comfortable setting." - Vikki

"My daughter really enjoyed the space and was lovely to be able to watch the match in the warm, great to have the option of the doors shut which made the noise much more easy on the ears, meaning we didn't need to use ear defenders. She loved the sensory bits, and she made herself really comfortable on the beanbag." - Jenny

"We had a lovely time at Charlton, the room was amazing and so many toys for the children, staff was great and me and Arlo had a lovely afternoon." - Jade

Written by Emma Dalmayne