Autism SA Guide For Hotels A Great Resource

Autism SA is hoping the number of hotels embracing inclusion for the Autistic community will continue to grow following a successful 12-month project with the SA hotel industry.

It coincides with the release of a The Guide for venues interested in breaking down barriers and improving experiences for people on the autism spectrum, available now on the Autism SA and AHA|SA websites.

The guide considers both the experiences of patrons, as well as the potential to employ more autistic workers.

Twenty South Australian venues engaged with the Pubs with Heart project which received funding from the Independent Gaming Corporation and was a joint initiative of Autism SA and AHA|SA.

Niki Welz, Research, Project and Resources Creative for Autism SA, said the project had been an outstanding success and is optimistic that number will double over the next 12 months.

“I think it was fantastic,” she said. “You talk about 20 venues spread right across metropolitan Adelaide – north, east, south and west which means everyone in Adelaide had the opportunity to tap into venues that had some kind of commitment to enhancing access and inclusion.

“I think any momentum we can get with venues makes a huge difference to people’s lives in terms of being able to go out and participate socially.”

Autism is a neurological developmental difference that impacts the way an individual sees, experiences and understands the world.

Everyone's experience of autism is different.

Part of the first phase of the project involved asking the Autistic community about the barriers they faced when accessing venues in order to support venues to be more accessible and inclusive.

KEY FACTORS

Online surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews with autistic people and those who supported them revealed the biggest hurdles to be:

• Crowds - a high density of people in a small space is often overwhelming

• Noise and light levels -background music, televisions, noisy crowds and flashing lights require management

• Food - Blander, simply presented food is preferable and should always be accurately described

• Strong smells - should be limited to specific areas such as kitchens and bathrooms

• Surprises - Knowing what to expect at a venue, including upto-date online menus, is key to reducing anxiety

• Staff attitudes - Those trained in autism awareness were preferable

“We had eight venues running inclusive ‘quiet dinners’, brunches or lunches,” Niki said.

“We had two venues change their menus to make them more sensory considered.

“The Marion Hotel ran a quarterly quiz night.

“And we did 14 access guides that give patrons information about what to expect at the venue so they can prepare themselves for visiting.”

The project received more than 300 positive comments from the autism community – a significant number given autistic people make up just 1.1 per cent of the population.

One patron said: “For my whole life, I’ve had sensory overload in restaurants. It was a real treat to eat out in a low sensory environment where I could enjoy delicious food in a calm and quiet environment.”

LOW COST

Niki said catering to a wider audience did not involve significant effort or expense.

It included things like creating quiet, private spaces with dividers or other barriers, offering a simplified menu with photos that listed ingredients and uploading an accessibility guide to their website.

“These small changes made big differences in terms of the Autistic community being able to access and engage with venues.

“It doesn’t need to cost venues a fortune. Radical changes aren’t required.”

And the benefits were not just limited to the Autistic community.

“What we found is it was felt by other cohorts as well - people who had hearing loss found it really beneficial to have lower levels of music when they were trying to dine.

“This project is just the beginning of a shift in the way venues do business and we hope that they see the benefit in terms of the social impact of making society more

accessible and inclusive to everyone, not just the Autistic community.”

Niki said positive branding opportunities and the potential for pubs to grow their customer base in a challenging economy should also be appealing.

It follows an Australian Catholic University study in 2020 that found around 58 per cent of autistic people and their families avoided going to venues like pubs and bars.

“Hopefully, they see the business benefits of opening up their venues to more patrons and particularly local patrons in their areas.”

EMPLOYMENT

Niki said the value in thinking more liberally about people on the auitsm spectrum was not just about growing patron numbers.

The ever-present issue of staffing could also be eased by considering alternative recruitment processes and how these could be changed to allow autistic jobseekers to really demonstrate their skills and attributes.

Those skills and strengths include honesty, dedication, loyalty, higher attention to detail, enhanced focus, reliability and lower absentee rates.

“We did some training with some venues around what the barriers are to traditional kinds of recruitment and how we can amend the recruitment process to be more accessible and inclusive,” she said.

“The hospitality industry is experiencing significant staff shortages.

“So by simply reflecting on their current recruiting process and how they can change it to make it more accessible and inclusive, it could really support them to address that.

“They just need to allow more people to show and demonstrate their skills and what they could bring to the workforce rather than simply assessing social communication skills through an interview.”

Autism SA keeps an online directory of all hotels that are supporting the initiative with inclusive and accessible events.

It has also created the AutismFriendly Charter to help organisations build their capacity for social inclusion and participation, via free online training tools.

Those organisations are then listed on the Charter directory.

One hundred per cent of people identified as autistic said they would be more likely to use a service associated with the Charter in preference to one that is not.

“Hopefully, venues see the benefit of enhancing access inclusion and that the community continues to support and advocate for change,” Niki said.

A sensory friendly dinner served on divided plates.