Wellington Museum introduces inclusive low-sensory hour

Wellington Museum has introduced a low-sensory hour. Photo / Supplied

Wellington Museum is establishing a low-sensory hour for those living with autism.

From 4-5pm on Thursday, the lights will be dimmed, sounds will be turned down and the museum will adapt to those with heightened senses.

It's the first time the museum's done such a thing, but going forward it will take place on the first Thursday of every month.

Programme Developer Violette Squire says the idea came from attending a workshop at Autism New Zealand last year.

"It sparked a thought in my head that the museum was quite an overwhelming space and potentially a community was being left out or excluded for that."

Squire said she has observed herself just how overwhelming it can be.

"We sometimes have children in school groups or with their families who do find just even the entrance of the museum really overwhelming.

"It's really loud, there's a bright light and a lot going on, so just altering things like that to make it more accessible is going to be really great for this community."

The museum will adapt to provide a calmer and quieter sensory experience, she said.

"Different kind of lights will be turned off or dimmed and audio and visuals will be turned off or set to timers just so it's not an overwhelming space."

Autism New Zealand chief executive Dane Doogan said it will have a much bigger effect than just removing potential triggers.

"It creates real inclusion and an equitable environment where our families and autistic adults can go along to something and feel like they're part of something, where in other times they feel like they aren't."

However, Doogan says there's never going to be a one-size-fits-all solution.

"It's important to remember that when you've met one autistic person, you've only met one autistic person," he said.

"What triggers one person might be completely different for the next, but in general within our community if there is an over-stimulation of sound it can really set them off, and light often has the same sort of principle.

"It's important to focus on the triggers for a person living with autism, rather than the behaviours that come afterwards," he said.

"We've worked really hard with the museum to help them understand what those triggers often are rather than the behaviour that comes with it.

"It's just another example of how we are moving in our society to be far more inclusive, and with tomorrow being international autism awareness and acceptance day this is just such good timing."