UK supermarket launches a quiet hour

[trywait]

I have to chime in because on the other end of the spectrum, I have to thank that supermarket for catering that one hour.

it's like that autistic kid while dining at chilli's and having a "broken" cheeseburger.

it restores my faith that indeed there is still a lot of good in the world.

[LJay]

I think that many people may come to enjoy the hour. I hope that it will become two or three and more.

Having been taught that silence is an extremely important aspect of music, I would go just to listen for the unheard melodies.

[Emiliano]

I hold you accountable for all of that. Do with that thought whatever you want.

Now onto this
Do you mean to say it's funny that I'd be focused on solving problematics on their early stages or even preventing their occurence, if possible, rather than attempting a patch later on?

Well, do forgive me. This structure of thought and action is prevalent in my line of work and to be honest with you, this is the first time someone finds it "funny".

I don't know about you, but when fighting a disorder or disease, I'd rather get rid of the source and not merely treating the symptoms it causes.

The story may appear endearing to the general public, but give me a break. Its 1 hour on 1 store.

Whatever triggered that kid in the article will trigger him in many other environments the 23 remaining hours of the day.

In the story that generated this action from the branch, to go further, I find another more pressing problem: It wasn't the mother who calmed the kid down, but someone else.

Do you think it's nice that the supermarket has decided on a limited action to adress a particular niche of clients? Sure, it is. To me, however, it falls short on 2 sides.

1) If you're truly thinking about making a more pleasant environment, you get rid of the noise all together. Hardly anyone needs music while grocery shopping, no? Legislate on the matter and make it extensive to other branches.

2) You are dealing with a mother who clearly doesn't have the tools to handle the problem. What kind of support is she getting, if at all? Has anyone taught her how to deal with it? Has she asked someone for that help? Has she informed herself about it? What kind of situation sorrounds the kid at home?

I'm sorry if I don't find a cause for celebration that someone decided on an action of limited effectiveness when there are more important issues pertaining that kid that are not being adressed. You can go ahead and find that view "funny".

I brought up the comparison to people with physical disabilities and mobility issues because I talk and think in metaphor and analogy a lot. Yes, it may not be a perfect comparison, but physical disabilities are much more visual, and what I was trying to get across is that they have an issue - not a sensory issue, but a mobility one. So they can use a wheel chair, just like a person on the spectrum might be able to use noise cancelling head phones. But in addition to what that person can equip themselves with, we as a society also do things to help make things easier for them, like wheel chair ramps and lifts, and so on. Or having certain hours that carry less risk of sensory overload. Does it need to be legislated - yeah, sometimes absolutely it does. But its also really nice to see it happen organically. Because it shows that it doesnt always take a law to make people in a community care about each other.

And I also brought it up, because yes - ideally no one in this world ever ends up disabled at any point of their life - be it developmentally, physically, whatever... But it happens. And when it does, it is my belief, that it is a good thing, even when done on a small scale, for the people around them, in their community, to try to help them out. This isn't an isolated thing too - here in NYC broadway shows and movie theaters have "autism friendly" performances. Museums, including the one I work for, and other cultural institutions have special days that are specifically for people and families with special needs. The saturday morning program that I help lead at the museum I work for that is specifically for kids on the spectrum is ran during the hour and a half before the museum opens to the general public.

And if you haven't picked up on this about me yet - i tend to go off on tangents a lot, I ramble, I write very stream of consciously. In my mind, its not completely off topic. But my apologies still if it created some kind of framework where it could then be viewed that you were being harsh or uncaring. But I also cant control what others read and react to from what I wrote. You might prefer more rigid lines of conversations, I'm easily led off track and I'm also interested in how others run with something I said that might have interested them.

As for the mom of the kid - I mean, I can't speak about her individual situation. But I do know it can be very isolating. It can be very challenging. You may not always know what to do. Part of what I do, and what a lot of people that I know who work with kids on the spectrum, is to help educate parents and caretakers as well. To help them to build a support system. To let them know there are people and services and places they can turn to for help. I think more and more there is a lot of that for small children now. But the older a person gets, the fewer resources there are right now. But you're right - it is important that parents are also taught skills to help better set their kids up for success.

And that is troubling - its an issue that affects my family personally. Thats probably why I jumped on the self righteous thing. Because I don't do what I do because I want to feel like a good person, or hang my accomplishments and empathy over another person. My family means the world to me and from a young age I knew that I wanted to be able to learn about what I was seeing, and be able to do something to help. I do what I do because I have seen the breakdowns, I've seen the sensory overloads, I've seen how people stare and talk and judge when they don't understand why a person is making strange noises or behaving in a strange way. I've heard people say "why can't she get her kid under control?" Ive stood there feeling powerless to alleviate the situation. Ive seen my mom exhausted, I've been exhausted. Even if the grocery store or whatever is just creating a more comfortable space for one hour out of 24, it can mean a lot.

And I'll be more careful with my language next time... I was meaning funny "strange" not funny "ha-ha". I interpreted your original response in an "all or nothing" sort of way. Which again, struck me as strange. It still does. Thats what Im trying to clarify. Yes, we should do everything we can to treat the source and not the symptom. But not every individual with ASD can be "fixed" so to speak. Theres still a lot about autism that we don't know, and every case of it is unique. And for the people who were diagnosed late, they deserve empathy and to be considered too. We cant only focus on how to prevent it when there are already people who have it who need help too.

I feel like you were hinting at it, and I absolutely agree with it - you and I have very different sorts of minds. A scientist and an educator. We both might have the same good intention, but we are thinking of the issue from different angles. And thats great, because thats what it takes to really be able to help.

[Homer]

What a relief! I'd like to have more places that stop blasting their selections of music onto others who don't like them. I live next to an open flea market whose management play their particular selection of provincial/country music very loud through loudspeakers. And imagine, this is played daily from 16:00-20:30! As to people listening to their preferred type of music or audiobook through headphones, I applaud that. That is their choice for not interacting with others.