Norwich Riverside Odeon cinema. Picture: Nick Butcher.

Norwich businesses urged to become more accessible for people with autism ahead of special cinema screening

Thursday, May 10, 2012
1:20 PM

The next Autism Friendly Film will be screened at Norwich’s Odeon cinema on Sunday.

Beauty and the Beast is being screened from 11.30am at the Riverside cinema, as part of a partnership between autism and learning disability support provider, Dimensions, and Odeon.

The monthly screenings enable people to watch films in an environment where they feel more comfortable, with lights left on low, the volume reduced and people able to move around the cinema and make noise as they feel comfortable.

An online poll during Autism Awareness Month, asked people to vote for public spaces that they would like to see made more accessible - with restaurants voted top with 32pc, supermarkets receiving 27pc of the vote, leisure centres 17pc and shops with 10pc.

Dimensions’ autism lead, executive director of practice development, Lisa Hopkins, said: “Accessibility is not just about wheelchairs and ramps. Dimensions is committed to working with the wider community to achieve positive outcomes for people with learning disabilities and people with autism and we believe that businesses and services can become more accessible by listening to the experiences of the autism community.

“The success of the Autism Friendly Films partnership, which means that films are now screened monthly in a sensory friendly environment in Norwich, is testament to how this can work.”

For more details, go to www.dimensions-uk.org/yourautismfriendly

1 comments

Is this really new? Cinema City have been offering Autism Friendly screenings for some time...

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littlesharpie

Thursday, May 10, 2012

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