April 1st marked the first day of National Autism Awareness Month and Sesame Street is doing big things! They are designating the #SesamePlace theme park in Pennsylvania as the World’s first autism center!
“It’s our goal to provide every family with an enjoyable and memorable visit, and we are proud to offer specialized services to guests with autism and other special needs,” officials wrote in a statement. The park has added “quiet rooms” that have “adjustable lighting and a comfortable seating area for guests to take a break.”
In addition, the park also offers low sensory areas, noise-cancelling headphones and a pre-visit sensory guide has been developed to help families plan activities that suits their child’s needs.
“Sesame Place is honored to be leading the theme park industry through our commitment to making our facility friendly for families with children on the spectrum,” Sesame Place President Cathy Valeriano said in a statement, according to NBC.
Sesame Street introduced a new character named Julia back in 2016 as a digital character in Sesame Workshop’s ‘Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children.’
Julia has autism and Sherrie Westin, executive vice president of Global Impact and Philanthropy at Sesame Workshop, told @PEOPLE, “She is going to be so powerful on two fronts. It will help kids with autism be able to identify with a character and it will also play an important role in destigmatizing autism.”
Westin says that the organization wants to “reach all children in terms of giving them greater empathy and to talk about and increase awareness and understanding.”
TSR STAFF: Talia O. @theclosetratchet on IG
Source: http://people.com/human-interest/sesame-place-amusement-park-autism-center/amp/
