Sensory rooms in Scottish stadiums

[Pingu1884]

I started going to the football at a young age with my Dad. Despite him being a Motherwell fan, he encouraged me to support my local team, St. Johnstone, and took me to my first game – a one nil defeat at home to Dundee.

 

Despite this early setback, I was hooked and for the following few years we had season tickets to McDairmid Park and attended all of St. Johnstone’s home games.

25ish years later, my own son has been asking me to take him to a football game. My son, Lewis, is 8 years old is autistic. He loves to watch games on the TV with me but really wants to see it live and in person. Unfortunately, his condition means that he could not in any way cope at a game. Too much noise, too many people, too much unpredictability are among the issues he would face trying to attend a match. 

I did a bit of research and learned about The Shippey Campaign that advocated for and have helped clubs across England to install sensory rooms at stadiums across the country to allow those with sensory difficulties to attend matches and support their team in an environment that takes their needs into consideration. 

 

In Scotland, to my knowledge only Celtic, Rangers, Greenock Morton and Airdrieonians offer sensory rooms at the ground to allow those with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other sensory conditions to attend matches safely and without fear of sensory overload.

 

Despite the SFA and most clubs having statements about how accepting they are of people with disabilities, for the most part this does not extend to those with sensory difficulties. There would be absolute uproar if any stadium in this country didn’t offer facilities for those in wheelchairs to attend matches but very little seems to be in place for those with additional sensory needs. 

I rang Hampden Park, Scotland’s national stadium, to enquire about a sensory room for the upcoming internationals and was told that they have nothing of the sort available. 

As a St. Johnstone fan, I rang McDairmid Park and asked about facilities there. They offer a loan of sensory bags with fidget toys, colouring books, bubbles and ear plugs amongst other things (that no parent of a neurodivergent child would leave the house without) but no sensory rooms.

 

Approximately 1 in 7 people in the UK can be classed as neurodivergent (meaning their brain functions, learns and processes information differently), so in all likelihood, each person reading this knows somebody who falls into this category.   

I just want to be able to take my son to football games the same as thousands of other Dads do every week. 

 

I am asking if you would be willing to sign the attached petition to try and raise awareness whilst persuading the SFA and clubs in Scotland to provide spaces so those with sensory difficulties can attend matches. 

 

Thank you. 

 

https://chng.it/wGstKftr

[1GregStewart]

Nothing but admiration for you. My nephew is in the same boat and we have seen some initiatives that have brought so much happiness to him. Best of luck 

[Andy_K_97]

Good luck - signed. I'm on the spectrum but pretty high-functioning so even from a young age I was fine being taken to games. I know not everyone on the spectrum is like me and I'd like to see more rooms like this so as young fans can enjoy games in a safe and calm environment. 

[thisGRAEME]

Best of luck with this mate.

Fwiw; I know the SPFL trust have a full, I can't think of a better word for it, but sensory kit, if that makes sense?

It allows a regular hospitality box to be turned into a sensory room, is my understanding.

Might be worth reaching out to them around it; https://spfltrust.org.uk/contact-us/

Signed in any case, but wondered if that might be of use.

[weejoeharper]

Signed. Also I think this is such a good thing and allows more and more people to be, to feel, included in this wonderful game, particularly minority groups who by definition are excluded from so much already. 212 have now signed. Perhaps some of us on here have connections to other forums and could add the link there? 

[Ceiling Granny]

I remembered seeing a tweet from Alan Burrows which I found with a bit of googling (I’m not smart enough to embed the link), but I don’t know what ever came of this. The first reply to Flow’s tweet is the Shippey Campaign you mentioned. I know there was a game last year where you could get a ‘sensory bag’ for kids at Firpark, but again I don’t know much about it or whether it was in part an outcome of any steering group.  

https://twitter.com/Alan_Burrows/status/1367786402944024577?s=20

[Mark Connolly]

Signed, good luck

[Sergeant Wilson]

Would it be worth trying going to one of the non-league games? There's plenty to choose from and some "crowds" are in two figures.

[NorthBank]

Signed. Hope every Club can accommodate a sensory room. Good luck.

[Gianfranco]

I work with autistic children and I know the majority would struggle to cope with going to a live game. 
 

Hopefully Lewis can get to a game in the near future. Signed.

[HibsFan]

Will sign now, an excellent initiative and I hope Lewis can get along to games soon.

It’s a disgrace that only four clubs have sensory rooms and - with no offence meant to Cappielow or Morton - it’s hardly a stadium that brings “first class facilities” to your mind. If they can do it, clubs like Hibs, Hearts and Aberdeen have absolutely no excuse.

I know, for example, that Hibs converted the old corporate boxes in the Famous Five into a community space a few seasons back. I can’t see any reason why one could not have been made into a sensory room.

The Hibs fan rep, Kieran Power, is usually quite on the ball with investigating things like this, so I’m going to write to him and ask what Hibs have been doing and if/when sensory rooms will be getting introduced at Easter Road.

Personally think it should be a mandatory requirement for all stadiums though, to be honest.

Edited March 24, 2023 by HibsFan

[LiviLion]

Signed, would be good to see this across the board in Scotland.

If it's any help at all, I think Livingston's disability access officer (who I believe also has autism) can be reached at DAO@livingstonfc.co.uk

[DA Baracus]

Definitely a good idea but there are barriers in terms of space with some stadiums, especially if such a room would be required to have sight of the pitch, not to mention financial barriers. Clubs are run as businesses and the cost of doing this, especially if it is at the expense of space that is designed to make money, could be prohibitive.

I think this is more of the type of thing that clubs should be investing in but there's an unfortunate reality here that probably means it will never be mandated but rather advisory. 

[superwell87]

Signed. 

[German Jag]

Signed

[AdamMFC]

Signed. As someone who's also Autistic it would be great to see a sensory room in every ground, I wouldn't need to use but it would be a huge help and comfort to many other Autistic football fans around the country.

[Hendo]

Signed, hopefully this comes off, I'd imagine cost might be an issue for some clubs but surely SFA or SPFL could help, it would be a better investment than VAR.

My son is also autistic but fortunately sensory issues aren't so much of an issue for him so he goes to all the games, can imagine for those with sensory issues football stadiums on match day can be a scary place. Hope this comes off and you're able to get your son to games.

[santheman]

I'm the Disability Access Officer at Motherwell and this is something I'll be pushing for at our next meeting with the club.

As someone above mentioned it is being able to access a suitable space with a view of the pitch and having available staff to be on hand in case of any emergencies.

At the same time I would say that every Premier League ground should ideally have  raised platform areas for wheelchair users. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to ask police, stewards and photographers to move.

[DA Baracus]

20 minutes ago, santheman said:

As someone above mentioned it is being able to access a suitable space with a view of the pitch

That's going to be the difficult bit unfortunately.

Many stadiums don't have this other than corporate boxes, and if said boxes are used regularly I can't see many clubs willing to convert them and lose out on the revenue.

 

[DukDukGoose]

Signed. Great idea.