Guide Increases Inclusivity for People with Autism
“The Art of Being Unique” at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
2019. (photo © Mikaël Theimer (MKL)
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and two other international art museums have created a free digital guide to facilitate museum programming for people with autism.
The museum, together with the Dallas Museum of Art and the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, seeks to increase accessibility for people with autism. The guide was published by the French American Museum Exchange — a network of 32 museums in Canada, France and the United States — and is available here.
Based on programs implemented by each of the three contributing museums, the guide lays out advice for developing museum programming to lessen anxiety and increase engagement. Recommendations include providing social stories — pictographs that illustrate an experience before a visit, so there are fewer surprises at the museum.
The guide emphasizes that museums are informal learning environments where people with autism can strengthen social and communication skills.
Source: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
