Asda Living, a superstore in Cheetham Hill, Manchester is introducing a "quiet hour" to help autistic (孤独症的) and other disabled shoppers. It will turn off the instore music and TVs to make the shop perfect for anyone who is troubled by loud noises.
Manager Simon Lea says "you'll be able to hear a pin (大头针) drop" when he starts his first quiet hour at 8 am on Saturday May 7.
He decided to introduce it after seeing a boy with autism crying on the shop floor two weeks ago.
"This boy was kicking and shouting. His mum just didn't know what to do. She told me he has autism," said Simon, a 39yearold father of two. "Then I gave him a￡1 football. This boy looked at me and he started playing with the football."
Because of the event, the manager decided to talk to a member of staff (员工) with an autistic child and disabled shoppers to see if he could do anything for them.
The result is the "quiet hour"， which will mean staff coming in an hour early at 6 am to prepare the shop for the May 7 event.
"It's all about helping people really. Six months ago I would have said ‘control your child' even though I've got children. But learning about autistic and other disabled people has helped me think about how I can make it a better place to shop，" said Simon. "I myself suffered for many years with anxiety (焦虑). I used to hate going into busy stores. There are a lot of people who have mental illness and we want to make the shop better for them."
