April is National Autism Acceptance Month and April 2nd, 2024 is National Autism Awareness Day. On this day we wanted to shed light on a designation that makes us proud to be a Philadelphian. Since December 2023, Philadelphia has been certified as the first ‘sensory-inclusive’ city in America. Go Philly!
A Sensory-Inclusive Philly:
Philadelphia has been certified as the nation’s first sensory-inclusive city by KultureCity, a nonprofit organization focused on acceptance and inclusion for neurodivergent individuals. Philadelphia leads the 10 largest U.S. cities with a disability rate of 17%. Sensory sensitivities or challenges with sensory regulation are often experienced by individuals with Autism, ADHD, PTSD, and other spectrum disorders.
One of the reasons Philly earned such an esteemed certification is because of its preparedness and training program for city employees. In fact, to date, nearly 16,000 city employees have been trained to provide support and resources to both residents and visitors with sensory sensitivities.
“Our communities shape our lives and to know that the City of Philadelphia is willing to go the extra mile to ensure everyone, no matter their ability, is included in community experiences is amazing,” said Uma Srivastava, Executive Director, KultureCity.
Inclusion Matters
Recognizing sensory sensitivities is paramount to inclusion. Philadelphia is leading the way in the nation to make sure all residents and visitors feel welcomed. Together with KultureCity, the city of Philadelphia plans to launch a Sensory-Inclusive lending program in 2024 as the second phase of the project.
Specifically, this program will provide access for departments to sensory bags with essentials such as fidget spinners and noise-cancelling headphones. It will also provide three mobile sensory stations for use around internal or community engagements. The goal is to create a more inclusive Philly while “ensuring equitable access to city programming for all”.
“We hope to create a more equitable Philadelphia for our workforce, residents and visitors and create sensory inclusive environments and engagements across our city by joining KultureCity in making the “nevers” possible,” said Amy Nieves, Executive Director, Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.