ARUN RATH, HOST:
For children with autism, loud noises, bright lights and crowded spaces can be painful. Many parents with autistic children avoid these situations entirely, which often means missing fun outings. Some museums are starting to recognize this problem and tone down the sights and sounds. The Pacific Science Center is one of them. From member station KPLU in Seattle, Jennifer Wing has more.
JENNIFER WING, BYLINE: Saturday at the Pacific Science Center - life-size robotic dinosaurs roar, a giant video monitor shows a person sneezing as a spray of mist shoots down from the ceiling. Nearby, naked mole rats scurry blindly through a maze of tunnels. Outside, it's all mud and rain, which means this place is packed with adults trying to keep up with curious children. This is exactly the situation Mike Hiner tries to avoid with his 20-year-old son Steven, who's autistic.
MIKE HINER: We've got the library, you know, we have our usual routines that we do so it's really nice coming here for a change. The butterfly exhibit kind of freaked them out, but that's all right. We had fun. (Laughter).
WING: Steven Hiner is one of the many children and young adults in the northwest who have some form of autism spectrum disorder or ASD. In the Seattle school district, 10 percent of the special education population has ASD. And in nearby Bellevue, that figure is 17 percent. With a sideways grin, Steven shoots out a firm hand.
STEVEN HINER: Hello, my name is Steven. What's your name?
WING: My name's Jennifer. Nice to meet you.
S. HINER: Like it.
WING: The Hiners are here before the official hours. This is the one Saturday each month when the Science Center opens up early for people with autism spectrum disorders. For two hours, the lights are dimmed, the loud noises are toned down and there's room to move around because it's less crowded. Mike Hiner wouldn't have come here with his son during regular hours.
M. HINER: Well, we're going to spend money to go see something. And then you get there, and you have to leave. And it's sometimes difficult. So this is really nice.
WING: The requisite quiet and calm can be limiting and lead to feeling a little isolated. The Pacific Science Center's Renee Gervais says the whole point of opening up early on these Saturdays is to offer more access.
RENEE GERVAIS: What we want is to be able to provide our programming, provide these experiences for children who may love them, who may be able to kind of run with them and become very inspired through that interaction.
WING: Other museums and organizations across the country have similar programs from the Smithsonian in D.C. to the Dallas Museum of Art. Even NASCAR holds events where autistic children go to the track to watch a live race from a quiet room.
Inside the butterfly house, the place Steven Hiner didn't really like, unpredictable electric blue and yellow flying insects land on tropical flowers for a quick snack. Eight-year-old Desmond Tsai takes it all in. Jeffrey Eckenroade, a docent, introduces Desmond to the heavy scent of gardenias and Jasmine.
JEFFREY ECKENROADE: Yeah. Take a smell. What does that flower smell like?
DESMOND TSAI: Honey.
ECKENROADE: Yeah. Right.
DESMOND: Honey like a honey-made toast.
ECKENROADE: (Laughter) Right.
WING: Desmond's father Gordon Tsai says his son would never open up to a volunteer like this if it were loud and crowded.
GORDON TSAI: Clearly, you can tell he's interested, and he has a lot of questions. And it's just an opportunity for him to ask them. Normally, he wouldn't even try to. But now, he's totally engaging with them, which is a side we'd rarely see.
WING: The two hours go by fast, and 20-year-old Steven Hiner has had a great time. His sister Elizabeth helps him recap the highlights.
S. HINER: It's just a...
EELIZABETH HINER: Do you like it?
S. HINER: Like it.
E. HINER: The dinosaurs.
S. HINER: There are dinosaurs and there are puzzles. They're good.
WING: And with that, Steven hops on to his sister for a piggyback ride to go check out the planetarium. For NPR News, I'm Jennifer Wing in Seattle.