Anaheim resident Kaleigh Ryan’s son is really into race cars.
Yet, despite living in the same region as one of the country’s most-iconic IndyCar street races, they’d only ever attended NASCAR events — and not the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Until now.
Ryan and her 5-year-old son, who has autism and is nonverbal, attended the Grand Prix on Friday, April 19.
But attending the Grand Prix can be chaotic: The concourse is vast, requiring a lot of walking to traverse. Thousands of people attend each day of the Grand Prix. And the noise of the engines make it hard to hear your own thoughts.
So at some point, Ryan’s son needed a break.
And they found the perfect place: a new sensory trailer in the lifestyle expo.
“We’ve been here since 10:30 a.m. so I think he just got a bit overwhelmed after being in the sun all day,” Ryan, 28, said. “He was doing good until he saw another kid cry and got emotional.”
Ryan said she often looks for sensory areas at events they go to. Her son, she said, is “very high sensory seeking.”
The mobile trailer, operated by Long Beach’s health department, is called the Sensory Area For Everyone. It’s geared toward people with sensory processing difficulties but is welcoming of all. The Grand Prix was the trailer’s debut to the community.
Some neurological disabilities, such as autism and attention deficit hyperactive disorder, make people extra sensitive or unable to process bright lights, loud sounds, textures and touch, according to the Child Mind Institute, a nonprofit that aims to help children struggling with mental health or learning challenges.
Sensory overload can leave people overwhelmed, anxious and stressed out, said Laath Martin, a spokesperson for Long Beach’s Health and Human Services Department.
The city’s Disability Access and Functional Needs Unit saw a gap in services for people with sensory needs during public health emergency planning, Martin said.
The soundproof trailer, which has a ramp or step to get into it, was piloted to be more equitable and inclusive in response to that gap; it will be used in emergency situations and at community events.
The trailer, the first of its kind in Long Beach, has comfortable seating, tactile blocks, sensory wall panels that function similar to fidget toys, noise canceling earmuffs, low lighting, LED-lit fidget tubes, weighted lap pads and blankets.
The sensory trailer had already been visited by more than 150 people, as of 11 a.m. Friday, Martin said. By 3 p.m., more than 400 people, including Long Beach Councilmember Mary Zendejas, had stopped by the trailer.
“Grand Prix is very loud and a sensory overload,” Martin said, “so this is a really great space to have here.”
Orange resident Allard Chu used the sensory trailer because of his son and niece.
“My 2-year-old is very enthralled by the different colors and all the fun things in there,” Chu, 36, said. “I’ve never seen this sensory area here before.”
Like Ryan and Chu, many other parents stopped by to let their children play or rest. But adults also took part.
Kim Vuong, one of the city’s accessibility advocates, said her favorite sensory accessory in the trailer was “everything.” Vuong has cerebral palsy and uses an electronic talker to communicate. She is also chair of Long Beach’s Citizen’s Advisory Commission on Disabilities.
Vuong worked with Esmeralda Garcia, the city’s disability access and functional needs coordinator, for the past year to get this trailer.
“It’s not just for children, which isn’t talked about as much,” Garcia, 39, said. “Adults sometimes get left out in conversations about sensory needs, as well as elders and people with invisible disabilities. People who don’t identify as being neurodiverse also need breaks, so it really is for everyone.”
Martin and Garcia said they hope this trailer encourages people from other cities to create something similar in their own towns.
“We’re all trying to do more for our community,” Garcia said.
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