The sights and sounds at Play Ball Park in Downtown Cleveland for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game can be overwhelming anyone, let alone someone with autism, PTSD or any other sensory and stimulation issues.
But everyone deserves a chance to experience the fun.
That's why the non-profit Kulture City brought a mobile sensory room to the fan fest for the first time.
The sensory activation vehicle allows for everyone to fully enjoy, everything the event has to offer. The addition of the truck makes 2019 the first sensory inclusive MLB All-Star week.
“We want to make sure people can go in and out of the stimulation and have a quiet place so they can kind of get back to neutral so they can be centered,” said Melanie LeGrand, Vice President for Social Responsibility with Major League Baseball.
The sensory room located outside on Mall B was therapeutically designed to meet the needs of people who deal with sensory overload. Inside, there’s bean bag chairs, bead mazes, bubble walls and more to help calm down and relax visitors.
The non-profit also provided approximately 100 sensory bags, which included deadening headphones for families who need them.
Jordon Gliem, a speech pathologist and volunteer with Kulture City, says the mobile sensory room has been a big hit.
“We have had quite a few families who have used it. We have had quite a few people come seek us out, who need it,” she said.
"We had one little girl it was really special, she said ‘this is a perfectly designed room, it’s a space I would love to spend time in.' And she struggles with heat so it was really important for her to come in here, she kind of hung out for a while.”
Amy Belles brought her 14-year-old son Carson Belles to Play Ball Park. He is a child with autism and is also non-verbal. Amy says he struggles with bright lights such as the sun and larger crowds can heighten his anxiety.
She says the mobile sensory room allows for her family to attend a big event, something they have struggled with in the past.
“It avoids isolation which is what we have faced with our family with his diagnosis for so long,” she said
Belles describes it as a safe space and calls it a “game changer."
“Knowing that people are here and that kind of root for us and root for our family and want us to be apart of the actions means everything,” said Belles.
Kulture City has been in business a few years ago. It helped to bring a sensory room to the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, formerly known as Quicken Loans Arena and also at Progressive Field.
The non-profit has helped make more than 300 spaces across the country sensory inclusive.