Woman organises special sensory Debs ball for autistic son and his friends
Theresa Hickey was determined her son David would not miss out on his Debs
A woman has organised a special sensory Debs ball for her autistic son and his friends.
Bright lights and loud noises can make the celebratory events a challenge for young people with the condition but Theresa Hickey was determined her son David would not miss out.
Thanks to her vision, the 19-year-old and his pals will attend the Gold Tie Debutante Ball at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cork in September. Theresa, from Cork, said: “I thought, ‘Why don’t we do one ourselves?’
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“The Deputy CEO of AsIAm [the autism charity] is helping me. There is going to be a video (visual guide for attendees) before the night and a map laid out of where everything is.
“You can choose where you want to sit. Do you want to be near the DJ or away from the DJ? The lights will be lower. The music will be lower. There will be a sensory room you can go to if you are overwhelmed.
“It is up to them what they wear. You don’t have to come all dressed up. David is going to get dressed up because he likes that but other people can come in whatever they want.
“We have also asked what people would like to eat and if they don’t want to eat the food in the hotel they can bring their own. We are doing buffet style so they can choose what they like. If they don’t want to eat on the night they don’t have to eat.”
Theresa added David and his friends can’t wait for the ball which features special guest DJ Stevie G and DJ Jerry.
She said: “A few of his friends are going to it. They are excited and talking about it and David is talking about getting a limo and that kind of stuff. He has tried on suits in town with a gold tie because it’s the gold tie debs.”
At present 25 young people are going but Theresa is hoping that other interested teenagers will get on board.
She said: “I’d really like around 40 to 50 to go for the atmosphere of it all. Lots of kids in mainstream school, or people like David in a special class in school won’t go to their Debs.
“I am trying to make them realise this is there for them to go to. They can still have their Debs.
“Debs nights can be quite daunting and people feel they have to go with somebody. With this you don’t have to bring anybody. It is geared around them.”
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