Parents with autistic children are being reminded of a special sensory room in Romford town centre.
The room is based at the Sycamore Trust in The Liberty Shopping Centre.
It offers a short respite for parents and children who have autism.
It is also open to people of all ages.
Steve Dixon is the trust’s marketing manager, he tells Time 107.5 that people are becoming more aware of it.
He said: “We’ve got a room in The Liberty, which we call the autism hub, it’s part of our partnership with Havering Council.
“It’s an area where people can get advice on autism, but one of the hidden gems we offer is something called a sensory room.
“It’s a room with soft lighting and soft toys and soft furnishing where people, particularly children, can come if they find the shopping experience overwhelming
“There are lots of lights, lots of noise, lots of tills, lots of people, for children with autism, it can be overwhelming, so we have this room where they can chill out in, reverberate and then go and get on with their day.”
The Sycamore Trust recently picked up an award for their work at the Barking and Dagenham Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.
They are offering the sensory room for free and without an appointment.
Steve Dixon continues: “There is awareness of autism and how it affects people, 700,000 people with autism which means it affects almost 3 million people including their families.
“I know personally because my nephew is autistic, if you are taking an autistic youngster shopping and they have a meltdown it can be a challenge and this sensory room is a real bonus.”
Tags: Romford, Health, Autism
