On Wednesday, October 22 Bluebird Care set up their Autism Interactive Experience Bus on Limerick’s Henry Street. The immersive, interactive simulator is aimed at raising awareness and fostering an understanding around the lived experiences of those with autism.
Bluebird Care is a HSE approved organisation dealing with assisted living for people with autism, dementia and a range of other needs since opening in 2007.
Before entering the bus, participants were made to wear thick gloves and headphones that played loud music. Once inside, they were given challenges such as counting coins and separating colour coded objects. These simple tasks became increasingly difficult to complete due to the sensory overload.
Bluebird Care’s Operations Manager Shane Gibbons was there to reassure those who were disorientated after the bus. Gibbons said: “It takes people a few minutes to come back around to normality. It’s both enlightening, but also a little bit frightening.”
Bluebird care worker Jason Kenny is hopeful the experience will increase awareness for the autistic community saying: “when you go in there, you get the feeling of being overwhelmed, the feeling of not being able to pick up something and not being able to understand. You are experiencing triggers too, whether it’s a loud noise, lights, or sounds.
“I think it’s just to give families and those that help people with autism a better picture of what they’re experiencing.”
He added: “Three percent of the population has autism. That’s roughly 150,000 people that are on the spectrum in Ireland.”
Why is awareness and understanding so important?
Mr Kenny explains; “It’s very prominent nowadays in society. It’s a lot different than it was in the past, where it was more secluded. You didn’t know much about it, but a lot of the organisations, schools, and colleges are now more open to it.
“People are getting diagnosed very late in life, unfortunately. They’re starting to realise that when they are diagnosed, this is something that they can now identify with, there is a reason why it felt like this. And once you have that, then you can deal with it.”
He goes on to talk about how crucial it is to understand the daily lives of our loved ones living with autism.
He emphasises the need for patience: “What you associate as the norm, is not the norm for somebody else. That’s something that we need to be very, very careful of.”
What can we do to help our loved ones with autism?
Mr Kenny stated we should “be a bit more understanding of what’s happening. For example, if you see a child acting out in in a supermarket, just don’t assume that they’re something else. There’s a reason for it.”
Mr Gibbons praises how certain businesses are becoming more conscious of those with sensory needs, lauding how businesses like Tesco provide training for their staff to ensure autistic customers have a pleasant shopping experience. The Bluebird team is hopeful for the future and achieving more inclusivity “It’s all these little things that are helping.”