Member Article

Crewe SEAT Promotes Autism Awareness

Family-owned Crewe SEAT is highlighting Autism awareness with a real commitment to making their dealership more Autism friendly.

Head of Business, Andy Barnes explained, “Autism is much more common than we might think, around 1 in 100 people have autism, so if you think about the population just of Cheshire East, which is around 380,000 that means that getting towards 4,000 people in the area will be autistic to some degree”.

“We appreciate that a car dealership isn’t a place that you visit every day, for many people it’s an exciting space, but for someone on the autistic spectrum we can appreciate that it can definitely be the cause of anxiety; so, we’ve put together a short video explaining what to expect when you visit our dealership and we hope this helps reduce anxiety ahead of visiting us”, added Andy.

The team at the site are undertaking training through the National Autistic Society, to help them better understand how daunting a dealership can be and how they can help by communicating better.

Every third Wednesday of the month Crewe SEAT will hold quiet hours between 9am and 11am. This is one of the quieter times at the centre; the bright lights will be dimmed and all radios and screens will be switched off, with trained Motability specialists on-hand to help out.

If you’re visiting Crewe SEAT at any time the centre now has a Safe-Space kit on site. This includes a pop-up black-out tent which can be erected prior to your visit or during a visit of you feel that you or your loved one has sensory overload.

Also, on hand there will ear defenders, if the noise is too loud, fidget toys for calming and there are also optic lights for inside the tent.

Andy continued, “This is an on-going commitment from Crewe SEAT, it’s something that we feel is really important for our customers and we hope it offers real assistance”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Karen Walker .