Sensory Friendly Films

I was very excited to see that AMC Theaters has teamed up with the Autism Society to have "Sensory Friendly Films."

During these special showings the:

• Lights are turned up 
• the sound is lowered 
• they are allowed to bring their own gluten-free and casein-free snacks into the movie
• there are no previews show or ads before the movie
• the "Silence is Golden" policy is not enforced 
• the tickets are $4-6 

I think this is a wonderful program that will really help some of these families who want their child to experience different things with out being judged by other people watching the movie who are not always sympathetic and nice. 

Once of the theaters is relatively close to my house and yet I have never heard of it. I am hoping that more people will become aware of this amazing program and participate. I also hope that more theaters will start participating and giving these wonderful people the same experiences that AMC Theaters is giving their viewers. 

Since I am from the Pittsburgh area I found the closest theater that participates around here and it is AMC at the Water Front 22. 

For a full list of theaters near you check out: 

http://www.autism-society.org/get-involved/events/sensory-friendly-films/

Autism Awareness Month

It's April which means... it's Autism Awareness Month!!

The Autism Society had been celebrating the National Autism Awareness Month since the 1970s. 

This is a very important to me as an upcoming educator to help spread the word about Autism.

In case some of you do not know Autism is a complex developmental disability which will usually appear within the first three years of a person's life. It affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with other people. 


Since March of 2012 the number of children born with Autism has gone up to 1 in 88 births in the United States. It is almost 1 in 54 boys. 

To care for an Autistic Child it costs about $3.5 to $5 million dollars. 

The U.S pays around $90 billion annually for Autism:

• research 
• insurance and non covered expenses
• medicaid waivers
• educational spending 
• housing
• transportation
• employment
• therapeutic services
• caregiver costs