LET’S was excited to return to Vancouver Pride Society’s PrideFest. We ran the low sensory space and had a LET’S information booth. We loved how many people stopped by our booth to show us that they still had the sensory items they’d gotten at our booth last year. We had others who were glad to see us because they had worn out, accidentally put in the washing machine, and/or lost their sensory items from the previous year. We even had some people who had heard about our booth from friends and were frustrated they hadn’t stopped by. It’s great to see so many people excited by the sensory selection at our booth.
We had many great conversations. We talked with teachers, camp counsellors, and program directors who were very much interested in our upcoming sensory kits sales. We chatted with people who had seen and/or heard of stim toys/sensory items but weren’t sure of what they did. We chatted with parents whose kids have just been diagnosed (and at least half of the parents have discovered they are also neurodivergent) and had lots of questions.
Our absolutely favourite interaction, though, was with 2 people who weren’t together. They were looking over the sensory items. 1 saw our weighted octopus and excitedly asked if either of us knew any octopus facts. Heather does indeed so they shared a few. Well that sparked such joy in the person. They went on a 5 minute infodump about octopuses. The other person kept moving closer until they looked up and provided a 5 minute infodump about another sea creature. Each person kept talking faster and faster and layering facts one over the other. The joy kept building and 20 minutes passed by. Then they both walked off in opposite directions. That is the kind of autistic joy we love witnessing!
At our booth, we directed many people to the low sensory space. We appreciated all the people who stopped by our booth to tell us how much the space meant to them. And we loved watching people stop by our booth and say no to the sensory items then talk them into trying 1 and they suddenly relaxed or nodded or zoned out or said “oh, that is nice”. Sensory items are such a wonderful way to demonstrate how accessibility doesn’t have to be this big thing to make a positive impact.
The low sensory space was popular. We heard from 1 person who had a 3.5 hour nap in the space. They said they hadn’t felt that safe in a long time. LET’S loves that we can provide this type of space.
It was a hot 1 and the LET’S staff member at our booth is “Celtic Pale” (as their grandfather called their fair skin). They were getting burned by the end of the 1st day. Out of concern, Vancouver Pride Society volunteers moved a patio umbrella over to the booth to provide additional shade. It was very much appreciated. Volunteers also came by regularly to let both our booth and low sensory folks have breaks to use the bathroom, get food, and, most of all, use the misting machines (and thank goodness for them!). We very much appreciate the attentiveness of the Vancouver Pride Society staff and volunteers. We also really thank the lemonade stand near us (sorry, I don’t remember their name) which not only had yummy hand-squeezed lemonade but who supplied us with cups of ice which helped so much! (If anyone knows their name, please let us know and we will add them to our post and tag them.)
