Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, is doing something awesome to help children with autism. According to Knoxville’s WBIR after realizing the increase in autism families coming to visit the park that they would start one of the first autism calming rooms. These rooms are filled with several sensory items that can help guest with autism spectrum disorders along with other types of special needs.
Judy Toth who works at the park told WBIR, I just felt like Dollywood needed to do something, so I did some research and discovered that if they had a place to go that’s quiet, that’s away from people for just a brief time, that they could continue to have a great day with us at Dollywood.”
You can learn more about what they are doing at WBIR here. If you visit the park tell us in the comments about your experience with the calming room.
We give talks with organizations about how they can better assist children with autism and their families. Need some help making an area or event more autism-friendly for your local community. Contact us here for more details!