Missing Piece Awareness is working with businesses to create judgement free zones.
Shortly after receiving a diagnosis of autism for their children, many families find themselves alone. Feelings of isolation and segregation are often experienced. As OT, PT, Speech, intervention therapies and behaviors begin to take over, getting out to enjoy the community you were once part of becomes a task too daunting to even consider. However, the voice of reason takes over and you somehow manage to get out the door only to find that the community places you once enjoyed and even took for granted, no longer seem to welcome you. Meltdowns are not understood. Simple accommodations for sensory processing issues are denied before you even get a chance to explain why your child needs it. Let’s not mention the stares and the eye rolls and the under the breath comments of poor parenting. It is probably more comfortable to just stay home while never fully understanding the unfairness that is happening here. Why does this happen when only a short time back you and your family were welcomed as customers and patrons.
Imagine a world of “judgement free zones”. Being able to walk into any community establishment whether it be a restaurant, a doctor’s office, a hair dresser or child entertainment place to name a few, and the employees and staff not only welcome you but they willingly support you. This is the vision and mission of Missing Piece Awareness.’
Missing Piece Awareness is a company that provides training in autism awareness and acceptance to mainstream businesses.
The businesses we have trained, have invested in quality customer service for all customers and are thinking outside of the box. Our interactive and experiential training provides business owners and employees with an understanding of ASD and ways that it may impact families trying to access goods and services in their community. Based on the business and their specific needs, we present suggestions for reasonable accommodations that can allow all families to feel welcome and accepted within their community businesses. After all good customer service is being able to anticipate and meet the needs of your customers, the question here is how can you anticipate and meet those needs if you do not know what they are. We emphasize to the businesses that the ultimate goal for families and autistic individuals is the ability to have community outings normal occurring fully inclusive events in their lives.
Parents, family members, caregivers and autistic individuals can and should have an active role in the recommendations we make by completing the questionnaire/survey on our website www.missingpieceusa.com. We want changes made in attitude and action that are realistic and sustainable and families can help by providing the answers.