A Quiet Place
By Nigel Davies
We all know that watching Swansea City can be stressful; the drama, the disappointment, the elation all shared live with a baying crowd around you. For some fans though that baying crowd is a barrier to watching the club they love, but the club’s autism friendly facilities provide a solution…….
Booking for this season will shortly be announced by the club for supporters wishing to make use of the Sensory Room facility at the stadium.
Swansea City’s Sensory Room allows supporters who may find the environment uncomfortable to come and enjoy the match at their own pace.
Supporters view the match from the Sensory Room while also being able to sit in the stand if they choose, safe in the knowledge that they are able to return to the Sensory Room should they become overwhelmed.
The Sensory Room is a safe haven for those that simply need a quiet place to enjoy the Swans.
A simple definition of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) goes as follows: a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges.
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that a crowded football match might cause problems for someone with ASD and its been heartening to see the club tackle this and make provision for supporters that might find the environment just too much to handle at times.
I really want to stress here that the definition I’ve used above is about as simple as it could get and ASD is way more complicated than that and so I’d urge you to find out more by following this link: Autism – NHS
The Sensory Room is the club’s crowning glory in a multi-faceted approach to improving autism awareness, which began way back in 2017.
Partnering with the club’s Disabled Supporters Association and consulting with a number of relevant organisations, the club began introducing measures designed to increase inclusivity for those with ASD and their families.
A ‘Quiet Hour’ was launched in the club shop and general match day advice was packaged up in cool ways in the ASD Parents Guides and Picture Story.
Further hard work brought in funding from the Premier League and the BT Disability Fund and the Sensory Room was installed in April 2019, ready for the 2019-20 season.
And then, just as word of the presence and availability of the Sensory Room was starting to build amongst the fanbase, Covid-19 happened and we all suddenly found ourselves watching the Swans from a Quiet Place in our own living rooms!
The 2020-21 season was spent entirely in front of laptop screens and iPads as lockdowns and restrictions kept fans excluded from grounds but with the vaccine programme in full swing, crowds are now allowed back into stadiums…and those with ASD, and their families, are once again being encouraged to join the party from the sanctuary of the Sensory Room – if necessary.
The facility is a fantastic addition to the Swansea.Com Stadium and it will hopefully go from strength to strength over the course of this season. And as more ASD supporters use it, more improvements can be implemented on the strength of the feedback that really counts.
All at ATFV applaud both the club and the Disabled Supporters Association for the hard work put in to bring the Sensory Room into existence – with this Quiet Place providing proper refuge, and all the other small but significant adjustments reducing the sensory overload a football crowd can generate, hopefully our ASD supporters can experience the joy of following the Swans live.
the swans should be all about drama on the field, not distress in the stands....
The cost of the sensory room is the same as a matchday ticket and to find out more or to register your interest in using this room please email accessibility@swanseacity.com
