Popular toy shop The Entertainer will be holding autism-friendly quiet hours at their stores in Edinburgh, West Lothian and Fife in the lead up to Christmas.
Staff in stores will be switching off all music and dimming the lights for the first hour of trading each day in order to help create a safe and comforting environment to autistic people who find the chaos of Christmas shopping a bit too much.
The Entertainer has stores at Cameron Toll Shopping Centre, at The Centre in Livingston and in Dunfermline's Kingsgate – and the initiative will be running at each of their 171 shops across the UK.
Staff have completed additional training which should help them deal with any customers who may be overwhelmed by the sensory overload.
As reported by our sister title the Liverpool Echo, research by the National Autistic Society found that 50 per cent of those with autism and their families sometimes avoid going out because of a concern about how people might react to them. More than a quarter of people have also been asked to leave a public area because of behaviours related to autism.
Gary Grant, founder and executive chairman at The Entertainer, said: "This year we're doing something very different – for the first hour's trading each day there will be no music playing, our lights will be dimmed wherever possible and our stores will be made to feel calmer for our Christmas quiet hour.
"This is to show our continued support for autistic people and their families and for those who find shopping during the festive season stressful and overwhelming. We hope that it helps make Christmas shopping enjoyable for everyone."
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