With the upcoming Cricket World Cup being hosted in England and Wales in 2019 we travelled to the world famous Lords cricket ground with our mobile Autism Reality Experience vehicle. The CWC19 team at the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will be, amongst many other tasks, in charge of hosting and looking after thousands of guests during the tournament, many with special needs including Autism, As part of their preparations for this responsibilty, a large number of team undertook the Training 2 Care Autism Reality Experience. In the following video we get their feedback on their experiences:
One member of the team described the experience as "Challenging" and explained that it had "Opened her eyes as to what someone with Autism feels" whilst another explained that the experience had been "Completely different to what I was expecting and much more difficult" both agreed that it was a valuable insight into the everyday challenges faced by those suffering with conditions on the Autism spectrum and that they would recommend the Autism Reality Experience.
One of the 2019 Cricket World Cup Team had previous experience with Autism and told us how the Autism Reality Experience had helped her:
"I've worked with children with special needs and Autism and tried to understand it having not having experienced something like that. Now experiencing [the Autism Reality Experience] I've had a little taste of what it is that they're going through."
One of the staff who would be working closely with spectators during the Cricket World Cup told us:
"It's been helpful with our event planning and training and what we can do to help our spectators"
Chris was another member of the team who had previously worked with students with Autism. He described his encounter with the ARE as an "Amazing experience". When asked whether or not he would recommend the experience, he described it as "A fantastic tool for ANYBODY to learn a little bit more about somebody with Autism". He finished by saying "I've learned a lot today, it's been really good".
We want to thank the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket World Cup 2019 team for taking part in the Autism Reality Experience and wish them the best of luck with the upcoming tournament. You can find out more about the Autism Reality Experience in the courses section of our website and book the experience online.