Movie Theater becomes "sensory friendly"

Cassandra Stuteville's son, Ryan, is not your average 10 year old.

“Ryan is nonverbal. He has severe autism and
also a seizure disorder,” said Cassandra.

Cassandra
says taking Ryan anywhere is a challenge but taking him to the movies is never
an option.

“He
screamed and cried and I had to leave the theater with him.”

“You have
people who say we have never been able to go to a theater with our children
before,” said Bill Warren, President of Warren Theatres.

Warren
says a local school district came to him with the idea of making his theatres
more “sensory friendly” for children with autism and other sensory disorders.

“The
thing that surprised me is the amount of children that have this sensory
condition,” said Warren.

After
months of research his theatres are making changes.

“We
brought up the light somewhat and we lowered the sound somewhat. We have
monitors in the auditoriums to make sure if it needs to be adjusted it gets
adjusted for the families.”

In these
special screenings theater etiquette goes out the window.

“They're
welcome to dance and enjoy the movie because this is a totally different
atmosphere. there's no restrictions.”

Cassandra
says that would be a huge help.

“Ryan
loves to watch tv and movies but he doesn’t sit still.”

She says changes
at the Warren will allow them to do something they haven’t been able to do in
years…go to the movies as a family.

“I don’t
think that has ever happened. Not yet. That would be amazing.”

The first
screening is Rise of The Guardians. It shows this Saturday at 11:00 am, Tickets
are seven dollars.

Posted: Wednesday, December 12 2012, 10:12 PM CST