Croydon shoppers will have the opportunity to experience how autistic people can feel in busy places when a virtual reality roadshow comes to the town centre this weekend.

Visitors to Centrale shopping centre will be able to try out virtual reality headsets to experience how overwhelmed an autistic person can feel in a shopping centre.

The National Autistic Society launched the VR experience in the wake of the viral success of its Can you make it to the end? film. That film was viewed nearly 60 million times and followed 10-year-old Alex becoming overwhelmed and experiencing a meltdown in a shopping centre.

Councillor Andrew Rendle said: “public awareness of autism is better than ever, but often autistic people and their families feel others don’t understand autism in a meaningful way.

"Often if you ask someone who is on the autism spectrum what is the most important thing others can do to help, they will tell you it is to try and understand. These virtual reality headsets can help everyone to appreciate how some places can cause a sensory overload for a people on the autism spectrum and why they might become overwhelmed.

"I would urge everyone to take this opportunity to improve their understanding of autism and visit the NAS stand in Centrale this weekend.”

The NAS stand will be in Centrale on the ground floor, opposite House of Fraser between 9am and 5pm on Saturday 22 and between 11am and 5pm on Sunday 23.

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