A few months back I wrote about some businesses and organizations that are better accommodating families touched by autism. Well, we can add another one to the list.

The Garden State Discovery Museum now hosts Open Arms night, which is a chance for kids with autism to rule the museum. As discussed in this article, they host Open Arms night about four times a year and it’s great because it really lets children be themselves – and it lets the parents not worry about screaming fits that sometimes happen, particularly during public outings. At the museum, kids can take part in interactive exhibits – for example, they can write their own stories in a “newsroom” and print out a front page with their photo on it.

It’s great that more and more organizations are thinking of ways to better connect with the autism community. It can be overwhelming for a parent of an autistic child to do something that others may not think twice about – like a trip to the museum or movies. But, as any parent of an autism child would agree, it can be down-right tough…so much so, that it often prevents parents from making those trips. So it’s nice to have a place to go and to be with people that can relate…for both the children and parents.

Do you know of other organizations that have events like this for families with autism? If so, would love for you to share them below in our comments section.

What does autism mean to us today? It means Open Arms. What about you?

Best,
Jenifer