Taking an autistic child to the cinema isn’t usually an option for parents – until now.
Autistic children find the darkness, flashing lights and noisy sound effects of the big screen frightening, so much so that most of the time they can’t bear to watch the film.
The Odeon Cinema, at the Eagles Meadow shopping centre, in Wrexham, invited autistic youngsters and their parents or carers to a special screening of the summer blockbuster Mr Popper’s Penguins and the event proved a big hit.
To ensure they could enjoy the film, lighting within the auditorium was increased and the volume of the soundtrack was turned down.
In the audience was Eleri Lewis, of Penycae, who took her autistic son Michael, nine, and his elder brother Matthew, 14, along to the screening.
She was delighted to be able to enjoy a family film with Michael, a treat most parents take for granted.
Eleri said: “The biggest problem with autistic children, and remember there are varying degrees of autism, is noise. For example, Michael went to the toilet on arrival at the cinema and when someone used the hand dryer the noise had him covering his ears and he became visibly distressed.
“So far as my son is concerned noise is the biggest issue and as a result we have not been able to enjoy the cinema experience before. We have always wanted to see new films but there is no way he could cope with the usual high volume levels.
“What the Odeon Cinema here at Eagles Meadow is doing is brilliant and hopefully we will be able to come to more screenings in the future which will help Michael get out more.”
Sarah Lee, also of Penycae, was there with her eight-year-old autistic son, Tomos, and described the experience as “fantastic”.
She said: “We did try going to the cinema a few months ago but it turned into a traumatic experience. We were only in for a few moments as Tomos simply couldn’t cope with the noise levels.
“Trying to do something to include autistic children and young people has to be a good thing and the Odeon should be congratulated on their efforts and for giving something different a real go.”
Carer, Beverley Jones, of Chester-based Inclusive Lifestyles, took along autistic Adam Roberts, 24, to the screening.
She said: “Adam could definitely not cope with the normal volume levels of a usual screening. We have to remember, when it comes to autism, the spectrum is so wide. Some sufferers can lead almost independent lives while others are very restricted in what they can and cannot do.
“Many young people with autism will replay a small four or five second section of a film over and over again on a DVD player so we will have to see how he copes. The fact the auditorium is not so dark and he can move around during the performance if he wants is a big help.”
Eagles Meadow Odeon Cinema duty manager Mike Smith said the performance of Mr Popper’s Penguins was arranged in conjunction with autism charity Dimensions.
He said: “Hopefully, we will have many more screenings in the future if this trial goes well. We saw this as an invaluable opportunity to reach out to another segment of our disabled audience, something that will bring joy to a great many autistic children and adults.
“In addition to the increased auditorium lighting and decreased volume levels we ensured a member of staff was present inside the auditorium throughout the performance and that guests could move around if they wished.
“We ensured there were no trailers for forthcoming films nor advertisements shown as it is important our autistic guests had the certainty of knowing the film would start when we said it would. This certainly helped reduce anxiety.”
“All the staff here at the Odeon Cinema Eagles Meadow hope our guests enjoyed the film and the measures we put in place made it possible for these young people to enjoy a real cinema experience. We look forward to welcome them back in the future for further autism friendly screenings.”
