Back in 2011, Dimensions and the UK Cinema Association joined forces to help introduce regular autism-friendly screenings to the UK, developing the work begun by Picturehouse in collaboration with National Autistic Society (NAS) in 2009.
ODEON was one of the first UK cinema companies to roll out the delivery of autism-friendly screenings, in 40 sites across the country. Over 3,000 guests attended those screenings, since which time they have grown tremendously in terms of availability and popularity.
2016 marked the fifth anniversary of national autism-friendly screenings in the UK. In those first five years, there were 280,000 visits to 200 screenings across 300 sites operated by ODEON, Cineworld, Vue and Showcase Cinemas, with many more independent cinemas picking up the mantle and running regular programmes of their own.
With five national cinema chains, and a number of independent exhibitors, now partnering with Dimensions and committed to high quality, regular screenings, cinema is becoming increasingly accessible for guests with sensory sensitivity. Through this guide, we aim to support more cinemas in the delivery of autism- friendly screenings.
People with a broad range of cognitive conditions can look at what these screenings do differently to see if they might be of benefit to them.
