A place like Chuck E. Cheese's where children should be able to have fun and interact with others can sometimes be a detriment to children who have autistic spectrum disorder due to its noisy, sensory-overload type of environment. But thanks to Chuck E. Cheese's brilliant idea, the restaurant chain will now offer Sensory Sensitive Sundays.
A pilot program that has already been tested at a few Chuck E. Cheese's locations across New York, New Jersey, and New England, Sensory Sensitive Sundays is the company's idea to completely transform the restaurant into a different experience for children with ASD. On these particular Sundays, the lights would be dimmed, the sounds would be lowered, and the Chuck E. character wouldn't be performing.
Currently Chuck E. Cheese's will be testing 54 restaurants in the northeast region until May, and Sensory Sundays have already been a hit for several other locations, according to a Huffington Post interview with Ami Anderson, a spokesperson for the company.
Thanks to the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Chuck E. Cheese's isn't the only commercial chain that has implemented a type of program specifically for ASD children. Trampoline parks and other playgrounds have partnered with CARD to have sensory-sensitive activities.
After the testing phase if the program proves to be successful, hopefully more families with ASD children can enjoy the chain like anyone else without feeling overwhelmed.
(h/t The Huffington Post)
