The first Sensory Hour at Canadian Western Agribition exceeded expectations.
Sensory Hour, held Saturday morning from 9 to 10 a.m., is designed to "provide a calm, structured environment for visitors who benefit from reduced noise and activity", stated a news release from Canadian Western Agribition.
Located at the Family Ag Pavilion, on the northeast side of REAL District, it provided registered participants an exclusive opportunity to interact with animals with dimmed lighting. A cow, a horse, chickens, alpacas, and turkeys were among the livestock at the event.
Cynthia Beck, Board Member and Co-Founder of the Sask Ag Matters Mental Health Network, was involved with Sensory Hour. She noted the idea was inspired by an individual with autism who provided feedback, stating they'd love to come to Agribition every day but couldn't due to the event's loud and busy environment.
"So we kind of got together, came up with this plan for sensory hour where we are trying to reduce sensory overload in kind of in our environment." said Beck.
Beck said the kids enjoyed the experience.
"We've got kids who've came, hugged our mascots, they've petted the sheep, they're really loving our Bunge exhibitor area where they get to roll their arms in the canola, feel the differences between peas, red lentils, wheat, and barley. It's just been fantastic. And even having an opportunity to see animals live, which a lot of kids won't ever have that chance, right? Like how many people have had the chance to pet an alpaca? Like it's just fantastic."
The session reached full capacity of about 150 people shortly after registration opened, said the news release. Beck said the demand was high to get in, even after reaching the limit.
"Even on the ground, as people heard me talk about this sensory hour because I've been very excited about it….they're like, “What? There's a sensory hour? How can I get my family in?” Or, “You know, I have a cousin who experiences autism; could we bring them?” And I'm like, “Oh sorry folks, we're at max capacity.” So it's really exciting thinking about where we might be able to go forward with this."
Sensory Hour is part of Agribition's efforts to add inclusive programming.
Michelle Payne was among those who registered for Sensory Hour. Payne said she became aware of the Sensory Hour through a colleague, then "emailed them pretty much immediately."
She brought her eight-year-old son who has autism and her four-year-old son. She described the experience as "life-changing" and a "massive relief to this community."
"We haven't been able to come here since my youngest was about one," Payne cited as a reason to not attend Agribition, along with the large crowd and noise. "And so this gave him that little bit of grace that he needs, able to fit our ginormous stroller. We have a big special-needs stroller, which we're not able to do when there's 400 people in here."
The animals were something the boys gravitated to the most, Payne said.
The challenge now is to find the balance between including more people without making it too big, defeating the event's purpose.
"Maintaining a maximum capacity is really important because the more bodies you have in this enclosed environment, the louder it is." Beck said. "So we have some brainstorming that we need to do to figure out how to maintain that balance where we are able to bring in more people but also have that limited capacity so that it's a safe environment for everyone."
