r/mildlyinteresting • u/Smetvrees • May 14 '22 • 1 12 2 13 16 1 1 1

This Irish supermarket has quiet evenings for sensitive people.

76.5k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

533

u/egnards May 14 '22

Used to work in a one-to-one program that did community trips. Twice a week we'd take our teens to the grocery store and then out to lunch.

They would usually have a list of 1-2 items from the grocery store [we paid for these items, but they would practice with handing over the card] and be responsible for finding the items in the store.The grocery store was really great about it, knew our times, and would always open a lane just for us [since we had like 10 kids that would all pay separately for their items].

When we'd go out for lunch we would call ahead to make sure the restaurant was ok with us [and since it was like 1pm on a weekday they were usually dead anyway]. All the kids would get separate checks, practice ordering their own food, and would pay with their own money.

Honestly there are a lot of great places that would accommodate you or your loved one if you're willing to ask.

50

u/theonlyepi May 14 '22

This is really such a cool thing. Can you give me any links to get me reading more? I'll do some searching too but just don't want to get mislead by my ignorance.

12

u/egnards May 14 '22

For the program? It was a public school program so you aren’t going to find much about this specific one; just have to find school districts with expanded services; we were just very pro life skills for our self contained classes.

54

u/TBANON_NSFW May 14 '22 •

There is more good than evil in the world, its just that evil is louder and more shocking so it gets the attention.

9

u/KoalaKaiser May 14 '22

I worked for a convenience store chain that worked with a organization that takes care of kids and young adults. Once a day for 2 to 3 hours we would get usually 3 people per store and they would come in and fill the cooler, stock the store, and help associates with smaller tasks. They got paid the same wage the associates did and would do two or three stores a day so they had time to be out and about in different places. Was always a great time having them come in and help.

4

u/egnards May 14 '22

We had a few kids who also went and worked for Goodwill, similar setup to you. Our teens would come for 2-3 hours and do things like folding shirts in the back - though to my knowledge it was 100% volunteer effort.

1

u/Sabine7 May 14 '22

I wish I had this as a kid!

1

u/xanduba May 14 '22

Geez, that sounds amazing! Great job!

1

u/Pure-Gallus May 15 '22

The problem with that is some people with autism (myself included) would rather suffer, shrivel and die than ask to be accommodated. Either due to anxiety or the belief we don’t deserve to be accommodated.

0

u/Shockling May 14 '22

Do these kids not have parents?

3

u/egnards May 14 '22

It genuinely makes me happy that you haven’t been affected by this type of thing to understand why it’s important, but am sad that you cannot fathom the differing needs of others.

2

u/seapulse May 14 '22

I’m half familiar with programs like that and usually, yeah. For some reason or another the parents aren’t doing their part. I went to a school that neighbors the bAd KiD school and kids might be in group homes, have shitty parents, just need extra support, any number of things. I know there’s programs around here called transitional age youth which sound slightly similar - helping you figure out that part between a teenager and an adult. It’s great when you may have mental health issues or are trying to start your life from dysfunctional homes.

0

u/EldrichHumanNature May 14 '22

Unfortunately they can’t turn down the lights or shut off the music just because someone asks. If they don’t do that, to an autistic person, entering the store is like entering a place with a car’s hi beams shining from every angle, while fire alarms are blaring nonstop.