UPDATE: Royal Show organisers have now extended the quiet hour to 90 minutes, running from 9am to 10.30am on Tuesday 1 October.
This year’s Perth Royal Show will feature a 'quiet hour' and a chill out space to provide low-sensory and interactive experiences for young people.
The week-long event, from Saturday 28 September to Saturday 5 October at Perth’s Claremont Showgrounds, is known for its fun frenzy of showbags, funfair rides, animal displays and screams of excited children in Sideshow Alley.
To better support parents, families, people with disability, sensory processing disorders and autism, organisers have arranged a quiet session from 9am to 10.30am on Tuesday 1 October.
Between this time music and funfair ride sound effects will be switched off and public announcements will be limited.
APM Communities, a partner of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), approached show organisers about introducing the quiet hour to improve the experience of the annual family event for people with disability.
It follows similar moves by supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths who have expanded quiet hours in hundreds of stores across Australia to improve the shopping experience for parents of children impacted by high-sensory environments.
Chill out space
APM Communities has also partnered with Learning Pod to provide a chill out space.
As well as calming lighting there will be relaxed seating and bean bags for people to take a break from the activity of the show which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
Visitors to the chill out space will also be able to meet teams from APM Communities, Mission Australia and Wanslea who will answer any questions about accessing the NDIS and other support services available for people with disability.
Adam King, a member of APM’s Community Capacity Building team said: “By having a quiet hour and a chill out space, young people with disability who become anxious in a highly stimulating environment can enjoy the show and take breaks as needed.
“It’s been great to work up these new initiatives with show organisers and with our NDIS Partners in the Community so that more families can bring all their children to the show.”
APM Communities, Mission Australia and Wanslea Early Childhood Early Intervention (0 to 7 years of age), provide support for people with disability, carers and families by helping them access the NDIS and other community or mainstream services across Western Australia.
Learn more about these organisations:
- APM Communities apm.net.au/ndis
- Mission Australia missionaustralia.com.au
- Wanslea wanslea.asn.au
Download a sensory map of the Perth Royal Show
For more about the Royal Show visit perthroyalshow.com.au.