Published on 12, July, 2020
I attend an Autism Planning Group, and we have been meeting at the same location now for about a year. The meetings are every six weeks and I used to not enjoy going, but lately I have got used to the venue and now look forward to the meetings. Getting used to the current venue took a very long time, though, because like many people with autism, I find processing change a very arduous task indeed.
Recently we have been informed that the venue will be changed because it is not considered 'Autism friendly' - about 3 other people with Asperger's attend the meetings, and at least one of them must have aired grievances about the venue. Allegedly the venue is considered to be too noisy because the acoustics are not great; there is also a play-group near by, and the kids can be quite noisy.
Well I have Asperger's/Autism and the venue seems perfectly agreeable to me. It is airy and light, not too hot or cold, and it is not unduly noisy. In any case, noise could be an issue at any venue and this will always be a problem for people with Autism. I am sensitive to noise myself, but I do not consider the noise at this venue to be excessive. I am even more sensitive to heat and lack of natural light in meeting rooms, and the current venue does not offend my senses.
The Council are going to waste money on quality check work, assessing 'Autism friendly' venues, just because one or two people have raised objections - this is hardly representative.
The problem is that Autism affects people so differently and the term 'Autism friendly' can mean different things for different people.
I am feeling stressed and rather angry that things need to change when the current venue is perfect - it is near the train station and it is off the main road, with a grassy area near by for when you need to take a breath of fresh air during the comfort break.
Yeah, you are spot on
I have been told that the current venue will be quality checked as well, so I hope that we do not move. I will make sure my views are heard at the next meeting.
I don't believe there's such thing as 'Autism friendly' - just as I don't think anyone can ever truly call themselves an autism expert, even if they have the condition themselves. You can't ever cover everything, and that's what people don't seem to be able to realise. They usually just stick us into the Rainman box or the Temple Grandin box to make things easy for themselves.
The way I think of it is that we're talking about 'Hope friendly' here, or 'Bob friendly' or 'Jane friendly' or 'whoever friendly'. That venue is 'Hope friendly', and the new venue may more 'Hope friendly' or it may not be 'Hope friendly' at all, even if it's the most 'Carol friendly' place there is. Similarly, my tutor at college last year was so 'Azalea friendly' that it was like she'd been training her entire life to teach me. In a couple of years, though, she might have another autistic student who hates her guts.
You could ask them to stay put on the grounds of not coping with change. They must consider your needs equally with the others. Perhaps they should be asking everyone's opinion, before acting.
In any group there will always be someone who dislikes something. I seam to remember this sort of thing arising at work a lot. If they move the venue, they may get complains about something else.
It's a difficult one, but I hope they resolveit satisfactoraly.I