4 Ways Museums Can Support Visitors with Sensory Needs
What do you think of when you hear the word “autism?”
It’s possible that you envision someone who is nonverbal, someone who struggles with eye contact or social interactions, or even someone who experiences incidents of spontaneous rage. However, given the statistics on the prevalence of autism, when you hear the word “autism,” it’s more likely that you think of a particular person whom you know, or at least have met. According to Autism Speaks, autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, affects 1 in 44 children living in the U.S. Statistically, this means that you likely know at least one family, for whom navigating the world of autism is a way of life.
But many people who do not have a personal connection with neurodiversity may not realize that many disorders, such as childhood anxiety, obsessive disorders, compulsive disorders, sensory disorders, ADHD, nervous tics, and even Tourette’s are related to ASD. Given this fact, the likelihood that you have even just one neurodivergent person visiting your institution today is extremely high. Which is why, if you don’t already, it’s past time to take action to make your institution more inclusive and welcome for neurodiverse visitors.
And since today, April 2nd, is World Autism Day, it’s the perfect time to consider what your education department can do to support this community.
Why Autism Awareness Matters to Museums
Autism and its related disorders are a part of the lives of millions of Americans. If your organization is committed to DEAI initiatives, then developing programming and facility improvements that support visitors with autism spectrum disorders should be on your radar.
Moreover, according to Autism Speaks’ website, “Of the nearly 18,000 people with autism who used state-funded vocational rehabilitation programs in 2014, only 60 percent left the program with a job. Of these, 80 percent worked part-time at a median weekly rate of $160, putting them well below the poverty level.” As community centers, museums have the opportunity to be a leader in creating job opportunities for those with Autism and related disorders.
4 Ways to Support Visitors with ASD and other Sensory Needs
Here are four specific actions you can take this month to support neurodiversity.
1. Work with Them
One thing I feel very strongly about, is that if your organization is going to create programming FOR a particular group of people, you need to be working WITH them directly. If you are unsure where to start, explore the Autism Society website, the Autism Speaks website, or try Googling “autism advocacy [your state] to locate a wealth of resources. In particular, look for training opportunities for your staff. For my part, to honor Autism Awareness Month, I have requested a staff training from Autism Tennessee to ensure that our front-line staff and our education team are more familiar with the common characteristics, stereotypes, and myths associated with autism. Trainings such as these go a long way in helping your staff foster a welcoming environment for all of your visitors.
2. Offer Employment Opportunities
As mentioned above, adults with autism are highly unemployed, compared to their peers. Consider what roles you may have that could be filled by someone with an autism spectrum disorder. Look around your community for organizations that help match potential employees with employers. For example, right before Covid, my department partnered with a local university program that offers a certificate program to students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We hosted an intern with autism, who had a deep love for history. We taught him public speaking skills and he assisted our tour guides. His work was well-received by our visitors, he learned a lot, and the whole experience had the added bonus of raising awareness of autism to our staff and guests. Since we’ve reopened, we have not had enough staff to support additional interns from this program yet, but it’s high on my list for 2023!
If you want additional inspiration for adding neurodiversity to your staff, check out this blog post on AAM’s website from 2017.
3. Create Sensory Backpacks
Many people with sensory-related disorders can find museums overstimulating. To help create a more welcoming environment, many museums have begun creating sensory backpacks for guests. These backpacks are pretty easy to assemble, and include objects such as noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses, sensory toys and fidget objects, play-dough, items with strong scents or unusual textures, stuffed animals, dry erase boards, and more! If you are looking for inspiration, check out my Pinterst board. While I have yet to implement sensory backpacks at my museum, they are definitely on my list for the future. I have colleague who introduced them to their institution with great success. One of their ideas was to create a wish list on Amazon of items for the backpacks, and share that list with their followers - the backpacks were not only funded, but all they had to do was open the Amazon boxes as they came rolling in!
4. Social Narratives
If you need a step-by-step guide to help you write a social narrative for our site, check our my new eBook, available for free in my Educator Resource Library!
Social narratives are a powerful addition to your accessibility programming. If you aren’t familiar with what they are, a social narrative is essentially a short and to-the-point document that tells a person what to expect in a given social situation. In regards to autism, narratives like this are commonly known as Social Stories, a tool developed by Carol Gray in 1990 and later trademarked. Her particular method of creating Social Stories is also trademarked and is intended to assist neurodiverse people in very specific ways. However, over time, the broad concept of a story-like teaching tool has become widely adopted for its value in helping people, particularly children, with ASD navigate the wider world.
You can write a social narrative for your site without any special training. There are some great resources online to help you craft a social story for your site, but in general you should keep these recommendations in mind:
Sentences should be short and use simple language.
Each page should have a large image (photograph or drawing) that illustrates the text.
Social narratives should prepare the visitor for each and every step of their time on your site - from the moment they exit their car to the moment they buckle up again.
As you write your social narrative, consider any part of your site that may be dangerous to a visitor with autism. In particular, draw attention to areas with water (which can be a particular draw for children with ASD) or where a person might easily be separated from their group.
Get feedback from the community. If you can, locate a person who has a family member with autism and ask them if they’d like to assist you in writing the narrative. Alternatively, ask if they might be able to review it after you’ve completed a first draft. Reach out to a local organization that advocates for neurodivergent people, and ask if they have someone who could review it for you, as well. Remember you should not be asking the community to do the work for you, but neither should you be creating something for them without their input. The goal of an inclusive museum is to create programs in connection with others.
One Last Note
Adding inclusive program supports for visitors with ASD will always be worth your time, simply because visitors with ASD are part of our community and they deserve full inclusion. But in addition, anytime we can create situation-specific accessible programming or modify our structures, we make our collections more accessible to everyone. Very young children, or visitors with anxiety, can greatly benefit from a social narrative that tells them exactly what to expect. Older visitors might really enjoy a quiet place to sit and rest, even if you designed it as a sensory break for your autistic guests. High energy children might enjoy fidget stations, simply for the extra opportunity for sensory output. In short, if you build a ramp, instead of a staircase, everyone has access to the next level.
Take Action Today
This month, I encourage you to take a moment and consider what steps your museum can take to create an environment that embraces neurodiversity. While some steps, like inclusive hiring practices, may take a little longer to achieve, something as simple as a sensory backpack or social narrative will go a long way towards making your site a more welcoming place for all visitors.
How To Write a Social Narrative in One Afternoon
Writing a social narrative is really easier than it might sound. Essentially, all you need is do is to think carefully about a visitor’s experience on your site, moment by moment, and then describe that experience in very simple sentences. Other than that, all you need are strategic pictures of each step you outlined. For my part, I was able to write the text for our social narrative in one afternoon, and then took the pictures in a couple of hours a few days later. Lastly, I put it all together using Canva and then sent it off to my reviewers. Altogether, I spent about three afternoons creating this important resource, but you can do it less time with the resources I’ve created for you. In my Educator Resource Library, you can find a downloadable worksheet, full of prompts and tips, to walk you through the entire process, as well as an editable Canva template, all designed and ready for you! You’ll be able to drag and drop your pictures and text in without spending a second on design!
A special note of thanks: When I wrote the social narrative for my museum, I used tips shared with me by my friend, Jaclyn Spainhour. She currently serves as the President of the Congressional Cemetery, and is the author of Museums and Millennials: Engaging the Coveted Patron Generation. She graciously gave me permission to adapt her tip sheet into a worksheet for you, and you can get access it immediately, using the form below.