Oldham Council joins in with National Autistic Society Autism Hour

National Autistic Society Autism Hour

Oldham Council is working with a range of organisations taking simple steps to make its services more accessible for people with autism.

By joining the National Autistic Society’s Autism Hour, taking place at 10am every day from 2-7 October, services can make a lasting difference for autistic people and their families, as well as raising awareness and understanding.

For many autistic people, the world can seem full of too much information – and too little understanding. That is why more than 60 per cent of autistic people and their families avoid even going out to the shops.

During this campaign a number of town centre businesses and council services such as libraries, Gallery Oldham and the market service will spend 60 minutes each day making adjustments to provide autistic people with a break from the usual overload of ‘too much information’ and create better environments for autistic customers. These steps include:

• Dimming the lights.
• Turning down music and background noise.
• Sharing information about autism.
• Training staff.

As well as the Autism Hour, there will be activities taking place at Oldham Library and Gallery Oldham including an autism friendly film screening of Disney Pixar’s Inside Out plus an autism support market place where people can find out more about the services and support available locally as well as being able to 3D print their own fidget toy.

Throughout the week, during the lunchtime rush, Naked Bean, the onsite café at Gallery Oldham, and Oldham Library will be making adjustments that make lunchtime a more quiet and relaxing experience.

Councillor Jenny Harrison, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Safeguarding, said: “Autism is a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how a person experiences the world and communicates with others. Even making small changes to the way we deliver our services can make a huge difference to the lives of those with autism.

“It is up to us as a society to have the best possible understanding of the challenges people with autism face and to help make their lives as fulfilling as possible.

“We recently launched our autism strategy which aims to improve both the design and delivery of services and support by working better together to ensure improved outcomes for people with autism and to achieve better value for money spent on commissioned services.

“The ultimate ambition is for Oldham to be acknowledged as an autism friendly borough and by taking part in initiatives like this shows that we are leading the way.”