Trenitalia c2c has worked with local charity, the Sycamore Trust to make a short film that shows how families with a neuro-diverse family member might travel on the rail network.
The Sycamore Trust is a local charity based in Barking, Dagenham and Havering, which supports pre and post diagnosis autistic people and helps their families with education, interview skills and navigating working life.
The aim of this new project was to celebrate the services that the Sycamore Trust and similar organisations provide for neurodiverse people and to highlight how a journey can be for autistic people, or parents with young autistic children.
There has been a bigger focus on neurodiversity in recent years, with many organisations and individuals being more aware of the challenges that neurodiverse people can face, but also the strengths and benefits that neurodiversity can offer.
During the making of the film, all involved were keen to put a focus on the difficulties that can arise and how staff can be more aware of how autistic people or other neurodiverse passengers might behave or act during their journey.
Paul McGunnigle White, c2c’s diversity and inclusion manager, said: “At c2c, we wanted to recognise the challenges and try to highlight how the industry can adapt to attract and welcome more autistic and neurodiverse customers. This was a great opportunity to work with a local organisation within a community we serve, and it has helped us immensely with our approach to neurodiversity and accessibility.”
Steve Dixon, Marketing and Communications Manager at Sycamore Trust reflected on the project and commented: “We really enjoyed collaborating with c2c on this project and we had a great day. We are delighted with the results, and we are so pleased that a major travel operator has adopted such a positive approach to the autistic community. We hope it will raise awareness of the issues faced by autistic people when it comes to using public transport, and we hope it will encourage greater empathy from the travelling public.”
With the help of industry groups such as ‘The Neurodiversity Centre for Excellence in Transport’ and ‘Rail Industry Neurodiversity Community,’ everybody involved hopes this will shine a light on how improvements can be made so all people can enjoy their journeys on the railway.
The full-length version of the film can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/vdYoc58U3tA
Image credit: Istockphoto.com/wirestock
