Dover Athletic to open autism sensory room

Vikki Pawley and Patrick Verrill at Dover Athletic's Crabble home

Dover Athletic Football Club is creating a sensory room for fans with autism.

The room is a quiet space which provides relief from the noisy atmosphere of a football match.

Several league clubs have installed such rooms, including Brighton and Hove Albion, with Dover's planned to open in early November.

The room was created after fan Patrick Verrill, whose seven-year-old son is autistic, contacted the club.

Mr Verrill, who is also chair of the Dover, Deal and Shepway branch of the National Autistic Society, said a drum being played in the crowd caused his son to become upset on more than one occasion.

He said: "As soon as the drum was hit, hands over his ears and he couldn't handle it.

"We moved and he calmed down but the next week the same thing happened and it was even louder, and he could not handle it, the reaction was quite severe.

"Even a picture of a football pitch now will upset him."

The sensory room will be a haven for autistic children during matches

Mr Verrill put the idea of a sensory room to the club, who handed the project to Community Engagement and Inclusion officer Vikki Pawley.

An unused room is now being prepared, ahead of the club's fixture against Hampton and Richmond Borough on 4 November.

"It will be equipped with things that will provide a calming environment" she said.

"It will be an ongoing project. What works for one person might not work for another."

Mr Verrill said the news has been greeted positively by other members of his branch.

"I've had messages saying 'I can bring my other child' or 'I can bring my child for the first time'."