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He settles down in his seat, seemingly not at all phased by an \u201cold school\u201d theater chair that doesn\u2019t recline. I quickly pass him his popcorn and a juice box, and we get comfortable as we wait for \u201cFrozen Two\u201d to start. All around us is a bit of chaos- a cacophony of sounds, words and mobile children darting from row to row. I smile knowing that Justin is at home here- his loud vocal stims will not be frowned upon, will be more than tolerated. I know in my heart he\u2019ll last through this movie, and it\u2019s a beautiful thing.<\/p>\n
You see, we\u2019re at the sensory friendly showing at AMC Loew\u2019s Seacourt 10 Theater in Toms River hosted by New Jersey Autism Warriors (NJAW) for the first time, and what I hope won\u2019t be our last.<\/p>\n
My son Justin is sixteen and severely autistic. For years just getting him out of our house was a struggle, much less getting him to enjoy events. After many years of searching we found that one of the few activities he enjoyed was going to the movies, and he was generally well-behaved there. He loved the films and truly adored the buttery popcorn, and I was thrilled that there was something we could all do together as a family since his brother was four years younger than him.<\/p>\n
Flash forward many years, and my almost-teen is eschewing \u201cPixar movies,\u201d and my son\u2019s deep guttural vocal stims are precluding him from movie-going with a general audience.<\/p>\n
Justin\u2019s vocal stim used to be an occasional \u201ceeee\u201d, but now that he\u2019s approaching manhood every sound is octaves lower and really loud, and he seems to enjoy regaling us with them frequently. The last few times we\u2019ve gone to the cinema he\u2019s been really vocal, to the point where I\u2019m focusing on keeping him quiet rather than watching the movie, and really, that\u2019s not supposed to be the point.<\/p>\n
Truth be told, I love these shows too.<\/p>\n
In an effort not to close him out of one of the few activities he loves, I did a little research, and found out that New Jersey Autism Warriors (NJAW) who partner with Parents of Autistic Children (POAC) offer frequent sensory showings at the AMC Loews Seacourt Ten Cinema in Toms River, NJ. You can find their listings on the POAC website at www.poac.net<\/a> under the events tab. You have to sign up with NJAW on their Facebook page, and then it\u2019s important that you RSVP how many tickets you want on their Facebook page so they know how many theaters to reserve.<\/p>\n I\u2019m never really sure how something will go with Justin until we try it, but he didn\u2019t seem fazed by the noises around him, and watched the whole movie in its entirety. When he realized it was a \u201cFrozen movie\u201d I even got a rare smile out of him, and I knew I\u2019d made the right decision to take him.<\/p>\n Justin\u2019s world has narrowed greatly as he\u2019s grown older. We used to be able to take him to many POAC events, but as he grew he generally stopped participating in the activities and just wanted to eat their pizza. Eventually my other son wanted to stop attending as well, so we put those events on the shelf. This never quelled my desire to get my boy out and about in the world, as the reality is the rest of his life either myself or his caregivers will have to take him places, so the more exposure he gets to the real world, the better.<\/p>\n I am so grateful we no longer have to relegate the movies to the past.<\/p>\n I did a little research, and there is also a sensory showing at the Marquis Theater Orchard Ten on Route 37 in Toms River, the second Saturday of the month at 11:00. I can\u2019t speak to how that one is run since we haven\u2019t been there yet, but I\u2019m hoping to check it out in the future as well.<\/p>\n This turned out to be a great experience for me and Justin, and I highly recommend you give it a try. Your child can make noise, bring in his own food (please don\u2019t flaunt it outside of the actual theater), and even run around. Truly, anything flies. It is such a gift to be among my \u201ctribe,\u201d to know there is a place where Justin is accepted and encouraged to be.<\/p>\n And that my friends, is priceless indeed.<\/p>\n For more on my family visit my blog at autismmommytherapist.wordpress.com<\/em><\/p>\n Follow me on Facebook at Autism Mommy-Therapist<\/em><\/p>\n