National Train Day For Autism

Good for you, Al. My client works with both adolescents and adults with Autism and we interface with many of them in our work. I can tell you first hand that model trains can be a wonderful influence for these individuals.

I wish you great success for this event.

Hi Al:

I want to say a huge THANK YOU for what the LCCA is doing at this event.  I can tell you from personal experience that trains resonate extremely well with those on the spectrum. 

Please let us know how this event goes, and please post some pictures. 

Best Regards,

Jerry Zeman, Jr.

Thank you for doing this event.

We have a couple of autistic kids in the club and the changes have been miraculous, sometimes over just a short period. I think the common interest and interaction is a big factor. We also have autistic kids who visit on a regular basis and have been reaching out through a members' wife.

I'm about to build a new layout on the ground floor of my home.  One of my goals is to make it visitor-friendly for local families who have an autistic (or Asperger's) child or young adult. 

Can anyone who has done this offer some tips?  Issues with confined spaces, too much noise, smoke, flashing lights, etc.?  

I want the kids to operate the trains, maybe the switches too.  Cab-1L's and LionChief+ might be the best way to do this.  I want it to be interactive, and in an ideal world maybe it will encourage the kids to interact with each other through role playing.  A kind of social therapy.

Is this unrealistic?  I only have 18 x 11.5 to work with here, but if it catches on I will help a local support group build a larger layout of their own.  Personally I can't think of a better way to share and give something back to society.  Any suggestions are welcome!

As a father of a Autistic son and a son with Asperger's, it does not affect my sons but others with autism are sensitive to loud noises. "Do not use Fastrack" and keep the sounds down on the locos. I would also make the layout basic. Don't go wild on details. Just my experience with seeing other parents autistic children at group outings.

Big Kudos guys!

Our track is all ballasted, but I fully understand the FasTrack issue. It's really loud on a hard surface even with scale wheels running on it as we discovered at our Pershing Square setup.

My daughter has Aspergers. When she was VERY young, the buzz of the e-units and accessory vibrotors used to upset her. I found a #346 manual Culvert Unloader which delighted her with it's action and lack of noise, and led her into the hobby. There are other manually operated accessories that you might want to check out.

My daughter is now 24 and is employed as a licensed Dental Assistant.

What a cool idea!

You might not be able to do it in your own space, but if you plan the bigger layout, a small room with a closeable door and a window that overlooks the layout might be a good thing for those who are momentarily stressed by noise and such. Having inexpensive earplugs at hand is also a good thing.

When you deal with any sensory issue, the newer way of thinking is to give people a way to control the excessive input until they can learn to deal with it unfiltered. I've heard people who don't understand call it "coddling", but it's like dealing with an allergy: instead of rolling in a patch of poison ivy, people take gradually increasing doses of the allergen until they don't react as badly. The more control a person with autism has over her environment, the less afraid she's likely to be and the more she will interact with the layout and with the other guests.

It was one year ago today I bought a friend of mine's grandson a Thomas train set he has autism. I heard it was good for them so I bought it at legacy station and sent it to him in Michigan. here is the first time he got to play with it. I do a lot for people with disabilities because my daughter has mild autism and CP. here's the video.

I have no expertise on this subject......but my daughter graduated from Marshall U with a degree Special Education. While in school she would attend train shows with me. She noted that many parents that had kids with Autism (she worked with them in clinic)would bring them to the shows as they LOVED trains running. And while she never did any hard official study she did note over the years it was a trend among kids with Autism. So it is a GREAT thing you are doing....and at least on our un-scientific level helpful and enjoyable to all.  

While there are some that never adjust to loud noises. The parents will have hearing protection for these children. Sometimes just a MP3 player with headphones playing something that there want to listen to is what they use. The one thing I have observed and shows in the video above, autistic children react positively to things in motion. My youngest son is like that. Though he is not into trains, he is into animated toys that move, make noises or talk.

Cam is non vocal so Denise was so excited to see him respond to the train.