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Asda introduces ‘quiet hour’ for autistic customers Asda launches ‘quiet hour’ to help autistic customers
(about 1 hour later)
An Asda store manager in Manchester plans to introduce a “quiet hour” to make shopping easier for customers suffering from autism.An Asda store manager in Manchester plans to introduce a “quiet hour” to make shopping easier for customers suffering from autism.
The Asda Living store in Cheetham Hill will be completely silent for an hour every Saturday morning from 8am to 9 am starting from May 7. Escalators will be stopped and in-store music turned down during 60 minutes for shoppers with autism who find loud noises difficult to deal with. The Asda Living store in Cheetham Hill will be completely silent for an hour every Saturday morning from 8am to 9am starting from 7 May. Escalators will be stopped and in-store music turned down during 60 minutes for shoppers with autism who find loud noises difficult to deal with.
Simon Lea, the store manager behind the initiative, said it will be so quiet customers will be “able to hear a pin drop”.Simon Lea, the store manager behind the initiative, said it will be so quiet customers will be “able to hear a pin drop”.
He decided to launch quiet hour after seeing a boy with autism struggling to cope on the shop floor.He decided to launch quiet hour after seeing a boy with autism struggling to cope on the shop floor.
“Following the incident, I’ve been speaking with colleagues and customers about how we can help shoppers with autism or disabilities. If we can make a few small changes to give these customers a better shopping experience and make them comfortable then I know the store will be a better place to shop for everyone,” Lea said. “Following the incident, I’ve been speaking with colleagues and customers about how we can help shoppers with autism or disabilities. If we can make a few small changes to give these customers a better shopping experience and make them comfortable, then I know the store will be a better place to shop for everyone,” he said.
Lea, who suffers from anxiety himself, revealed that he hates going into busy shops where people are shouting and music is playing. Mr Lea, who suffers from anxiety himself, revealed that he hated going into busy shops where people were shouting and music was playing.
The response to the special disability-friendly hour has been overwhelmingly positive, with Mr Lea’s post on Facebook shared nearly a 1,000 times.The response to the special disability-friendly hour has been overwhelmingly positive, with Mr Lea’s post on Facebook shared nearly a 1,000 times.
A spokesperson for Asda told the Independent that it will be monitoring the feedback from the trial at Cheetham Hill store to see if it can be rolled out in other stores. A spokesperson for Asda told The Independent that it will be monitoring the feedback from the trial at Cheetham Hill store to see if it can be rolled out in other stores.
Tom Madders, head of campaigns at the National Autistic Society said he was “very pleased” that Asda was making shopping a little easier for autistic people. Tom Madders, head of campaigns at the National Autistic Society, said he was “very pleased” that Asda was making shopping a little easier for autistic people.
“We hear time and time again from parents and autistic people that shops and other public spaces can be extremely challenging for them, because bright lights, strong smells and crowds or queues can cause them to feel overwhelmed by too much information. “We hear time and time again from parents and autistic people that shops and other public spaces can be extremely challenging for them, because bright lights, strong smells and crowds or queues can cause them to feel overwhelmed by too much information," he said.
“Asda’s initiative is a great example of an organisation taking the trouble to understand how autistic people experience the world and we hope other retailers are inspired to follow their example,” Madders said. “Asda’s initiative is a great example of an organisation taking the trouble to understand how autistic people experience the world and we hope other retailers are inspired to follow their example."