UK supermarket launches a quiet hour

[Emiliano]

I dunno about there but the local supermarket and the train stations always have a nice choice of radio station to play here. I like that.

Yes, it's nice to do something of the sort for autistic kids, although I wouldn't go as far as what Emil says.

Autism, when treated from early on can render a more or less normal kid, if I've learned anything from being brother to a Special Ed teacher. That should be the main goal, to help the kid get inserted into society, facilitating the process in the best way possible, rather than to tackle the near impossible task of changing the entire social structure to accomodate the kid.

One of my many unpopular opinions, though, I reckon.

Ive also heard that if diagnosed very early, it's possible to intervene. And people most definitely should be looking for signs of autism and other developmental disabilities in their babies in order to provide them with the most help as they develop. But there are tons of children and adults who are on the spectrum, and just because they aren't part of the typical population doesn't mean that society shouldn't adapt in some ways to better accommodate their needs. I mean, how do you feel about wheelchair accessibility or accomadations made for people with other physical disabilities? There's only so much you can do to prevent disabilities. And it's important to understand that the fight for the accessibility that we do have, has been a hard one.

I don't think there is anything wrong at all about having special, announced times and dates for people with various needs or disabilities to help them feel more comfortable. And not all people on the spectrum have noise sensitivities, and not everyone with those sensitivities are on the spectrum. It's a broader issue here and the sooner that we stop treating people with disabilities as if they are burdens to society with no right to have any special accomadations in the public sphere, the better. Simple things like quiet hours can help a person function higher and more independently, and it makes a world of difference for caretakers, families, and most importantly, the person with the disability, to be made to feel understood, welcomed, and accommodated. Because honestly there really aren't many spaces currently that provide that.

I get that you're not saying "screw them, society owes them nothing." You're a negative dick yeah, but you're not that bad. It just struck me as a strange thing to say that you wouldn't go as far as saying it's great that more people are thinking of how to make their spaces more accessible... This is just a topic I feel incredibly strongly about personally and work towards in my professional life, so I kind of feel the need to respond. We should be doing everything we can to help prevent the more debilitating symptoms from occurring, and to help teach people skills that allow them to adapt better in the broader society. But we shouldn't brush off the people who don't get that happy ending.