This guide was created in partnership with Autism in Museums.
Autism in Museums: Welcoming families and young people
Kids in Museums believes museums are for everyone. But many autistic children, young people and their families find visiting museums difficult. Here are some simple ideas to help overcome hurdles faced by these families and young people. Most of these ideas are low or no cost – all they need is a little time and commitment.
The National Autistic Society defines autism as a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people, and how they experience the world around them. There are approximately 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK. Understanding how to welcome and offer support to autistic visitors is vital as many can feel or become socially isolated.
Read on for advice on and examples of how to improve access for autistic children, young people and their families at your museum.
1. Planning
Decide on your budget
What do you want to achieve? Think about what is practical. Are you developing a new audience or supporting autistic visitors who already visit? You can make small changes to support visitors in regular hours – this doesn’t have to be expensive.
Decide on your time commitment
Above all, think about a consistent, regular offer. Outreach and working with new audiences can take time so make sure you factor this in. The most successful museums work with local partners.
Hold accessible or relaxed openings
Reducing the numbers of visitors can really help but not every museum needs to open early to do this. Some museums open early, some open after hours. What works for you and what would work for your visitors?
Tailor your offer
You are unique. Autistic visitors are coming to learn about your stories. You don’t have to radically change what you do, just tailor it for your audience.
Talk to your local community
Get in touch with local autism charities, special schools and groups. Search for your ‘Local Offer’ on your local authority website. They can give you advice about what works for them. Don’t assume you have all the answers.
Get to know autism
Do your research. Learning more about autism will help you understand the barriers and how to overcome them.
2. Before the visit
Understand the barriers
This can include transport. Even the journey to the museum can be exhausting for autistic visitors.
Website
Your website is often the first point of contact for autistic visitors who like to plan and understand what will happen when they visit. Have you got the basics right? Do you explain how to get to the museum? Are there multiple ways for people to get in touch? One method might not work for all. Short videos showing the museum can be really helpful for visitors coming for the first time.
Visual story
Ambitious About Autism defines a visual story as a “‘one stop shop’ for what to expect when visiting your museum, explaining information with clear language and explanatory photos, maps and symbols”. It should show your galleries and exhibitions, as well as the café, toilets, stairs, lifts and where to go for help on a visit. Think about explaining challenging content, mannequins, audio and immersive experiences.
Sensory map
A sensory map is a floorplan of your museum that highlights busy and quiet areas. It can also show galleries that are very bright or very dark.
Training
Training is key and should include all members of staff and volunteers, including front of house, security and café staff. Think about appointing Autism Champions who can disseminate training to staff and volunteers.
Outreach
Autism is a spectrum condition; it means everyone is different. If you want to work with different groups, you might need to go to them first to help understand what they need and what you can offer that works for them.
3. Museum Environment
It’s not about changing everything!
Get in touch with your senses
Many autistic people find sensory stimulus overpowering. Some seek out sensory stimulus, whilst others avoid it. Walk round your museum and think about noise (hand dryers, audio, entrances), smells (café), lights (dark galleries and bright spaces), space (exits and busy or tight spots) and touch (is it okay to touch/not touch). Is there a way to remove these barriers or turn them off for a short time?
Offer a quiet space
Chill out rooms can be really helpful to destress. If you don’t have a dedicated Quiet Space or Sensory Room, think about offering a pop-up space, which is a portable tent set up near activities with cushions and sensory toys inside.
Provide somewhere to eat
Cafés can be noisy and overwhelming. Do you have a school lunch space you can offer to visitors at weekends? Can you direct families to a nearby green space if they need a break?
4. Support in the museum
Wayfinding and signage
Providing clear information on how to move around the museum space and where the amenities are can lessen anxiety on a visit. Make sure staff are clearly identifiable and easy to find.
Ear defenders
Offering ear defenders on the front desk lets families know you are there to help and can lessen the impact of unexpected noises.
Sensory bags or backpacks
These can be a great source of distraction and can support families on a visit. Think about fidget toys, dark glasses, torches and magnifying glasses.
Trails
Having a checklist of things to see and do can encourage visitors to explore your spaces.
Ticketing
Does your ticketing policy make visiting easy? If you need to leave because a visit is overwhelming, is it easy to get a refund or leave tickets open for returning another day?
Queuing
This can be incredibly difficult for autistic visitors. Think about giving autistic families the option to get to the front. Consider introducing the Sunflower Lanyard Scheme, which highlights hidden disabilities.
School holidays
Visiting a museum when it is really busy can be tough. Think about offering bookable slots with reduced numbers during holidays to make a visit more manageable.
5. What happens next?
Evaluate
Is your offer working? Are you reaching the right audience? If it doesn’t work, talk to your audience about what you can do to make a change. Consider how to capture feedback. Sometimes simple methods, like using emojis, can be a good way to learn if activities are popular. Don’t leave evaluation to the end of your offer – embed feedback into your plans from the very start so you can make the most of learning along the way.
Marketing
If a family has never visited before, they won’t be looking at your website. Word of mouth is powerful and talking to groups may be your first step to new audiences.
Top tips
- Don’t try to do everything at once!
- Everyone with autism is different. One approach for every visitor won’t work.
- Experience it for yourself. Visit relaxed cinema, theatre and other museums’ events to see good practice.
- Review your resources. Museums change and so should your resources.
- Visual stories support a lot of audiences.
- Don’t be afraid to try or get things wrong!
Resources
Getting started
- Ambitious About Autism – The national charity for children and young people with autism.
- The National Autistic Society – The Society provides information about autism, training and consultancy.
- Mencap – This charity provides information on autism and learning disabilities.
- Autism in Museums blog
- Autism in Museums event calendar
- Autism in Museums blog: Making museums autism friendly
1. Planning
Understanding autism
- National Autistic Society video: Sensory Overload
- State of Museum Access Report 2018
- A Different Way of Seeing film by Autograph and Mouth That Roars
Accessible sessions: Early openings
Accessible sessions: Regular hours
2. Before the visit
Website examples
- Horniman Museum and Gardens pre-visit videos
- Museum of English Rural Life Google Streetview Tour
- Museum of English Rural Life Google Streetview ‘how to’ guide by Adam Koszary
- Postal Museum Autism Spectrum Conditions web page
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Resources for visitors on the autism spectrum
Visual stories
- London Transport Museum visual story (download)
- Museum of English Rural Life social story
- York Castle Museum visual story
Sensory maps
- British Museum sensory map
- Museum of English Rural Life sensory map
- Melbourne Museum Australia sensory friendly map
- Eureka Museum sensory guide
4. Support in the museum
Sensory backpacks
- V&A Museum: Designing Museum Activity Backpacks for Families
- Euan’s Guide: What to put in a sensory backpack
- DCN blog: Sensory backpacks at the V&A with Abigail Hirsch written by Claire Madge
Trails
Sensory equipment suppliers
Further reading
Further study
- Open University Course: Understanding Autism
This is a free eight week course that requires up to three hours study a week. - Inclusion London: Understanding the Social Model of Disability
This includes a fact sheet, BSL interpreted video and links for further reading. - National Autistic Society: How to talk and write about autism
- National Autistic Society: Sensory differences – a guide for all audiences
A really good breakdown of hyper and hypo sensitive tendencies.
Planning for community consultation
- Ambitious About Autism Toolkit
A guide for working with groups and useful for community consultation. - Autism in Museums blog on setting up an Access Advisory Panel
General awareness resources
Books
- A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
- The Reason I Jump: one boy’s voice from the silence of autism by Naoki Higashida
- The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
- Neurotribes by Steve Silberman
- Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome by Luke Jackson
- Thinking in Pictures and Other Reports from My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin
Television
- Atypical (Netflix)
- Chris Packham – Aspergers and Me
- The A Word
- Richard and Jaco
- The Bridge
- The Review (BBC)
Film
Autism resources for children
Files for this Resource
Tags: Autism, Tips, Welsh Language
Categories: Accessibility
Audience: Children, Family, SEND, Under 5s, Young people