This is what SpesAut is, the «autism friendly» supermarket

The first Coop Alleanza 3.0 “AUTentico” store, an autism-friendly supermarket, was inaugurated in Parma in via Gramsci. In fact, the store was designed to make shopping easier for people with autism spectrum disorder. Some quiet hours are scheduled throughout the day, during which environmental noises – such as those produced by radios, loudspeakers, loudspeakers – are limited. At the same time, the lights are also dimmed, so as to reduce the sensory overload that people with autism spectrum disorder experience. The quiet hours will be scheduled every Tuesday from 8.30am to 11am and from 2pm to 4pm and every Sunday from 9am to 11am. All the store staff were also involved, 36 employees, who followed specific training courses with the Cooperativa Insieme, active for over 30 years in the field of intellectual disability. Thanks to this special training, the staff has received basic preparation which will allow them to have the tools to recognize the peculiarities of people who have an autism spectrum disorder, encourage communication and guarantee that they remain in the store in the best possible conditions. The SpesAut project is promoted by Generazione Parma in collaboration with Cooperativa Insieme and the patronage of the Municipality of Parma and financed by Terre Ducali.

The store reorganization process involves three phases. Initially, a map of the supermarket was created with the position of the various products – food and non-food – represented by CAA (Augmentative Alternative Communication) icons, in order to facilitate the person’s orientation within the premises. The second step involved the installation of special lane signs depicting the category of products also silk-screened with the CAA symbols. Signs which, thus, make moving around the supermarket easier and allow you to identify the position of the desired items without difficulty. The last stage was the creation of a kit that can be requested directly at the sales point in via Gramsci. A booklet containing the “Social History” which explains, mainly through images, how to move inside the supermarket. There is also the “peel and stick” album in which there are stickers illustrating the supermarket items that will help autistic girls and boys with their shopping.

«With the “SpesAut” project this shop becomes an even more open point of reference for the inclusion of the entire community – explains Andrea Volta, Deputy Vice President of Coop Alleanza 3.0 -. From tomorrow, the Coop in via Gramsci will experience a gentle transformation and this also thanks to the commitment of the workers. My thanks go to them, because they were the first to get involved and will be an integral part of this transformation. This is what we mean when we use the word “cooperation”, that is, everyone doing their part to build a well-being that belongs to everyone, which is as widespread as possible, acting together. Only together is it possible to change and implement in a practical way such an important value as inclusion.” The initiative received the patronage of the local administration. «The Municipality of Parma is proud to be able to sponsor the SpesAut project, for which we must be grateful to Coop Alleanza 3.0, Generazione Parma and the Cooperativa Insieme. Ours is a city that focuses very decisively on the themes of inclusiveness, which must characterize all moments of our day and our life – underlines Michele Guerra, mayor of the capital -. Shopping is in fact a particular moment, in which we find ourselves as a community in shared spaces, and the attention that SpesAut also places on this moment gives the sign of profound care and a true concept of community”.