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Dimensions partners with The Big Cat Sanctuary to champion Autism-Friendly Experiences

By May 1, 2025 Article

Not-for-profit support provider Dimensions has given The Big Cat Sanctuary an Autism-Friendly Award, recognising the charity’s commitment to supporting its autistic visitors and employees

As part of the award process, team members across the organisation took part in an interactive and thought provoking training programme to help equip them with the expertise and tools to provide the best support for autistic adults and children alike

Alongside the new award, The Big Cat Sanctuary will be hosting its first Sensory Inclusive Open Day in July, offering a more tailored experience for guests with additional needs. To find out more, visit: https://thebigcatsanctuary.org/events/open-days/

Not-for-profit support provider Dimensions has given The Big Cat Sanctuary an Autism-Friendly Award, recognising the animal charity’s commitment to providing excellent support to its autistic visitors and employees.

The announcement comes after over 30 team members at the site in Kent took part in a rigorous training session led by Autism-Friendly experts at Dimensions, to equip them with the expertise and tools to provide the best support and experience for autistic visitors and employees.

Dimensions’ training has been developed with over 15 years’ experience of supporting Autism-Friendly environments and includes advice on communicating with autistic people, understanding reasonable adjustments that can be made to environments to reduce stress and practical guidance on how to best utilise their existing and new found expertise.

The training and award will have an invaluable impact on individuals and families visiting The Big Cat Sanctuary, which welcomed over 19,000 guests last year. Dimensions’ research shows that 72% of people with learning disabilities and autistic people have felt ignored by society, and only 37% think they get the same opportunities as everyone else. By taking the training and making meaningful adjustments, The Big Cat Sanctuary is helping tackle this exclusion, and allowing autistic people to access an enriching experience that many people take for granted.

The Big Cat Sanctuary joins a growing number of organisations across the UK partaking in Dimensions’ Autism-Friendly training, with many companies and institutions embracing their responsibility to provide a more inclusive environment and service for customers and employees with additional needs. This includes ODEON, Cineworld, Vue, Showcase, Picturehouse and Everyman cinemas, alongside Education Librarians and Libraries Connected, who have all been awarded Dimensions’ Autism-Friendly Award.

Using their new skills, The Big Cat Sanctuary will be hosting its first Sensory Inclusive Open Day in summer, offering a more tailored experience for guests with additional needs. This includes reduced noise levels, as well as talks and activities to ensure all visitors can enjoy the day in a more comfortable setting. BSL interpreters will also be on hand to make the event more accessible to deaf guests.

To get tickets for The Big Cat Sanctuary’s first Sensory Inclusive Open Day on 24th July, visit https://thebigcatsanctuary.org/events/open-days/

To find out more about how your organisation can partake in Autism-Friendly training and offer a more inclusive environment for your employees, customers and service users, visit: www.dimensions-uk.org/autismfriendly

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