Hooray for the weekend! One of the most popular weekend activities is going to see a movie. Most of us enjoy the experience of exceptional surround sound for the latest blockbusters on the big screen, silence from the audience and a dark theater. Well what about people who may be a little more sensitive to sound, may have trouble sitting still for long periods of time or may be afraid of a dark theater?
Three OKC metro area movie theaters offer a sensory sensitive movie option. The Moore Warren Theatres, AMC Crossroads and AMC Quail Springs show a sensory friendly movie once a month. During these screenings, the house lights are brighter and the volume is softer. The audience members are not expected to stay seated or silent, they are welcome to walk around, dance, sing, shout and talk as much as they please. The movie also starts promptly at the expected time without previews.
The idea for this special screening program began as a request from a parent of a child with autism. With the help of AMC and getting the word out to her local Autism Society chapter, more than 300 children and parents attended the first sensory friendly AMC movie screening.
The greater the response our local theaters get to these screenings, the more likely it will be that they will offer frequent sensory friendly screenings. This month Monsters Inc in 2-D will be showing at the AMC Quail Springs and Crossroads on Saturday, January 5 at 10:00am, and at the Warren Theatre on Saturday, January 19th at 11:00am.
You can visit http://www.warrentheatres.com/sensorysensitive.asp and http://www.amctheatres.com/programs/sensory-friendly-films for future dates and showtimes.
Also, for an interesting read about the start of this program, visit: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1977230,00.htm
