PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND COMPLETE WAIVERS BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL AT AIRTASTIC

Autism Accessibility Guide

The following guide has been written to provide some pre-visit information for customers who are on the Autistic Spectrum of what to expect when you visit one of our centres. We recognise the need to provide better information and are committed to helping make our business more accessible and enjoyable for those with sensory and communication needs.

Introduction

We are conscious there are a number of things that we ask customers to do that may appear daunting to an autistic person. As part of our commitment to try and make this visit more enjoyable, we have taken the approach of trying to help provide a better awareness of what to expect from our premises and activities.

We have worked with Autism NI to achieve their Impact Award for businesses. As part of achieving this award, a number of our team have received Autism training and we have a number of nominated champions for ongoing training and support. We have also worked with other regional Autism Organisations for training and information purposes.

Airtastic Bowling Alley

What information have we provided

Below you will find:

  1. A link for a pre visit guide of our premises and an explanation of what happens in different areas. This includes images of all areas of the building so you can familiarise yourself with our activities and processes before you arrive.
  2. A list of our most common Health and Safety stipulations. These are areas relating to the activities and experience that we cannot change due to safety and compliance reasons.
  3. A list of reasonable adjustments that may support the specific needs of different customers.
Picture of the Jelly Mountain at the Airtastic Cork Inflata Park

Health and Safety Policies and FAQ’s

As we have multiple different types of activities, there are varied in place for the overall Health & Safety rules that are in place vary of every customer on some of our activities.

Unfortunately, there are a number of Health and Safety policies and procedures which are enforced on us as a business for reasons such as:

  • Governing Bodies such as ROSPA, BSI & HSE
  • Manufacturers guidance and warranties
  • Insurance stipulations and liabilities

Due to this we cannot waiver any of the most common issues below that relate to specific experiences/activities, and it is important that the policies are followed to ensure the safety of your child and the safety of others.

Lots of Square Trampolines at the Airtastic Trampoline Park

Soft Play

  1. Socks must be worn at all times by all customers entering the soft play area.
  2. Shoes cannot be worn when entering the soft play area.
  3. Lighting must be kept to a minimum lumens level to ensure all customers have an acceptable level of visibility.
  4. Customers with sight or hearing disabilities must be accompanied by a person over the age of sixteen.
  5. Height & age restrictions are in place and cannot be overlooked regardless of circumstances.
  6. Supervision is strictly over 16 years old and cannot be overlooked regardless of circumstances.

Please remember the above is for the Health and Safety of every user.

Airtastic Bangor Soft Play Centre

Trampoline/Inflatable Parks

  1. Airtastic Inflata/Trampoline Grip Socks must be worn at all times by all customers entering the Trampoline/Inflatable area.
  2. Shoes cannot be worn when entering the Trampoline/Inflatable area.
  3. Airtastic Safety Video must be watched in the specific briefing area by all customers.
  4. All customers must be able to support their own body weight unassisted to use both Trampolines and inflatables.
  5. Customers with sight or hearing disabilities must be accompanied by a person over the age of sixteen.
  6. This activity cannot be used if you have any Pre-existing medical conditions such as breathing, heart, back, neck, bone or muscle conditions.

Please remember the above is for the Health and Safety of every user.

Kids Play at the Airtastic Inflata Park in Belfast

Laser Tag

  1. Shoes must be worn at all times in the Laser Tag arena.
  2. Customers with sight or hearing disabilities must be accompanied by a person over the age of sixteen.
  3. Age restrictions are in place and cannot be overlooked regardless of circumstances. All players must be 6 years and above.
  4. Supervision is strictly over 16 years old and cannot be overlooked regardless of circumstances.
  5. Airtastic Safety Video must be watched in the specific briefing area by all customers.
  6. This activity cannot be played if you have any pre-existing medical conditions such as breathing, heart, back, neck, bone or muscle conditions.
  7. This activity may be overstimulating and can lead to sensory overload due to flashing lights, haze, strobe lighting and noise including loud music and sound effects.

Please remember the above is for the Health and Safety of every user. To find out if this is a suitable activity for you and your child, please feel free to call into the centre speak to a manager before you book.

Two Girls Holding Laser Tag Phasers At Airtastic Lisburn Laser Tag

Reasonable Adjustments


We have considered the elements of our activities that may cause the most challenge for our customers with different needs and tried to mitigate some of the areas that may cause difficulty. We have listed some reasonable adjustments below and also made some suggestions of how potential adjustments could be made pre-visit:

  1. What to expect - We have provided a video of our premises. We would advise that you view this with your child in your home setting before visiting if you are at all apprehensive or unsure of what to expect.
  2. Grip socks - The wearing of Airtastic Inflata/Trampoline grip socks is a challenge for some autistic people but unfortunately it is one of our health and safety stipulations. If you believe these could be a challenge for your child/autistic individual, we would recommend that you purchase socks in advance of your visit and practice wearing these in the home environment.
  3. Watching our safety brief – We are happy to try to facilitate a separate brief with only you and your child in the briefing area depending on how busy our sessions are at that time. There are times this will not be practical due to briefing sessions running back-to-back. We would advise contacting us before booking and we can advise the best times that we can accommodate separate briefings.
  4. Waiting time – We are happy to provide express check in to our activities, providing we have advance notice of your booking and capacity within the activity.
  5. Wristbands – We can facilitate the non-wearing of a wristband if this is uncomfortable for your child. In this case we would usually ask an accompanying adult to wear it instead.
Diner Table Showing NY Kitchen Menus and cutlery

6. Wearing socks without shoes in soft play – We recommend that you use our video of our soft play area pre-visit to visually show your child that socks have to be worn. It could also be helpful to relate a specific pair of socks to this activity and/or practise this at home in preparation for your visit.

7. Supervision – Where supervision of an autistic child is required, we do not charge for this. This does need to be an adult over the age of sixteen. We would also ask that this adult does not partake in activities and supervises at all times.

8. Lighting and sound – We are happy to adjust certain lighting and music levels within reason during off peak sessions if you feel it would help – please speak to a member of staff if you feel this would be helpful. Please be aware that our inflata parks are inflated with blowers that make a constant noise that cannot be switched off.

9. Quiet Sessions – We have a created a quiet hour for some of our activities on a Sunday morning, this will be a naturally quiet time and will allow a more comfortable experience. (Listed Below). This session is open to the general public but will have no strobe/disco lights or music playing. Please see our website for specific centre information and booking. Please note all health and safety stipulations apply.

10. Off Peak Sessions – We are aware that many of our peak sessions can be extremely busy and over stimulating for some autistic people. If you would prefer to attend at a quieter time, our staff will be happy to advise you of more off peak times that may be more comfortable.

For more details on all of our activities please visit www.air-tastic.com

Wide Shot of Arcade Machines at Airtastic Amusement Arcade

Sunday Morning Quiet Sessions

ActivityBangorBelfastCraigavonCork
Inflata / Trampoline Park 10am - 11am 10am - 11am 10am - 11am 9.30am - 10.30am
Bowling N/A 10am - 11am 10am - 11am N/A
Mini Golf N/A N/A 10am - 11am N/A
Soft Play 9.30am - 11am 9.30am - 11am 9.30am - 11am N/A

Quiet Session (autism friendly) features: No Music and No loud announcements, No strobe lights or flashing lights, only minimum house lights, More space and less crowds with reduced capacity.

Airtastic Amusements are closed during quiet sessions as they have loud noise and flashing lights.

Please note that our Quiet sessions are open to the general public. This session is open to the general public but with no strobe/disco lights or music playing.

Full lights and music will be turned up to regular levels at 11.00 am.

Please note all health and safety stipulations apply.

Stay in the know

Join our mailing list to get special offers and the latest news from Airtastic