Sainsbury’s has teamed up with leading autism charity, the National Autistic Society, to support Autism Hour, where shops and services take 60 minutes to provide autistic people with a break from the usual overload of ‘too much information’.
- Over 600 Sainsbury’s stores will be taking part in the National Autistic Society’s Autism Hour on Monday 2 October at 10am
- A calmer store environment created, including turning down the tannoy, self checkout sounds and café music
- The National Autistic Society’s Autism Hour campaign encourages retailers to create a more autism friendly shopping environment
Sainsbury’s has teamed up with leading autism charity, the National Autistic Society, to support Autism Hour, where shops and services take 60 minutes to provide autistic people with a break from the usual overload of ‘too much information’.
Over 600 Sainsbury’s stores will be holding their autism hour on Monday 2 October at 10am. Colleagues at the store will take simple steps to be more autism friendly. This will include turning down the tannoy and self checkout sound, turning off café music and creating a calmer shopping environment as well as providing colleagues with information about autism.
Clare Muscutt, Head of Customer Experience at Sainsbury’s, said: “We’re extremely proud to be supporting the National Autistic Society’s Autism Hour in over 600 stores, demonstrating our commitment to providing an inclusive environment for our customers. It’s an excellent initiative which will not only help increase awareness and understanding of autism amongst our colleagues and customers but also provide an enhanced shopping experience for people with autism in the communities we serve.”
Mark Lever, CEO at the National Autistic Society said: “It is really encouraging to see shops and services such as Sainsbury’s getting involved in the National Autistic Society’s Autism Hour. Our Too Much Information campaign has highlighted that the smallest changes can make the biggest difference for autistic people and we are confident this event will help shops and services understand how we can work towards a more autism friendly world.”
More than 1 in 100 people are on the autism spectrum which means that someone sees, hears and feels the world in a different, often more intense way to other people. Autistic people often find social situations difficult and struggle to filter out the sounds, smells, sights and information they experience, so the Autism Hour aims to make shopping a more comfortable experience.
To find our more information about attending a National Autistic Society’s Autism Hour, please visit: www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/tmi/autism-hour.aspx