Toys R Us rolls out autism-friendly shopping in all its stores

Toys R Us have announced a Christmas shopping event for children living with autism.

The event will see all of the toy giant’s stores open their doors exclusively for parents and carers of children with autism and additional needs.

Special measures have been introduced to make stores more autism friendly. Flourescent lighting will be reduced and all the lights will be dimmed, there will be no music or announcements during the hour and new autism-friendly signs will be put in place.

Taking place on November 6, all stores will also introduce a quiet zone for any children who need some time out, and parents are being offered the opportunity to pay for their good upon return to the stores in order to avoid waiting for extended periods with their children instore.

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“Holding such events has given our teams extreme pride in reaching out to autism groups within the community,” marketing director Mike Coogan said.

“Making slight adjustments to stores and creating a quiet shopping period allows children and young adults to experience the fun in a toy shop, regardless of their disability.”

Autism access manager for the National Autistic Society Daniel Cadey added: “We’re delighted that Toys R Us is again showing the way by hosting an autism-friendly shopping event in every Toys R Us store in the lead up to Christmas.

“Simple changes like this can make a huge difference to the 700,000 autistic people in the UK and to their families, and we hope that many more major retailers will follow the great example set by Toys R Us.

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