Take a request from parents of autistic children, combine it with Pure Addiction tattoo studio looking for something to support at Timmins and District Hospital, and you have the start of a fundraising project towards a quiet room in the emergency department for those autistic kids.
Hospital foundation acting executive director Jason Laneville says the noisy, bright, active ER can overwhelm the autistic child’s sensitivities. Even before the department is redesigned and rebuilt, a room will be put aside. Laneville says it will have tinted windows, soft lighting and a tray of helpful things.
“Things such as fidget spinners and different equipment and items that would be used to help ease the fact that they’re in the emergency room, needing to be treated,” says Laneville.
Photo credit: TADH Foundation
He says his eyes were opened to the need for such a room, by the father of an autistic child.
“He knows of a child who was actually physically injured that did not go into the emergency room because they knew that if they brought that child into the emergency department, the repercussions would be for maybe a month after, because of just overstimulation.”
Laneville says the hospital is onboard 100%, and the parents are eager to help raise funds.
The room will also be available for children who might not cope well with the ER environment.