BEACHES Resorts, the Caribbean’s leading family all-inclusive brand, will today kick off a series of autism seminars in an effort to sensitise their talents as well as residents in communities across the Caribbean on what the company considers a very important topic.

The seminars are being held in recognition of the observance of April as National Autism Awareness Month. The seminars will be conducted by educators from Sesame Street, a long-standing partner of the resort chain.

According to Group Entertainment Manager Joel Ryan, the Sesame Street Autism Sensitisation Seminars are to be staged at Beaches Ocho Rios, Beaches Negril and Beaches Turks and Caicos up to April 29. Participants will comprise talents from the resorts, as well as teachers from schools adopted by the Sandals Foundation.

“Our aim is not just to equip our talents with the tools to care for guests with autism, but also to have them go back in their own communities and sensitise persons about autism, as well as impart their knowledge gained in these seminars,” Ryan noted.

“We have the opportunity of exposing our talents on the topic of autism and how we can support our guests’ experience in a non-judgmental manner,” Ryan said.

He further noted that autism was becoming more prevalent worldwide and “the sensitisation of our talents is intended for them to be ambassadors of support, with the ability of positively impacting the guest experience and their own community”.

Ryan said that as a proud sponsor of Sesame Street, Beaches Resorts was delighted to support “The Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children.” The programme provides a platform for all Beaches Resorts’ staff to create inclusive activities and events and to make adjustments, where necessary, to ensure all kids have a positive Beaches’ experience.

The Sesame Street approach brings awareness to the unique qualities and also similarities that all children possess and helps build empathy, respect and understanding among all kids, Ryan declared

Brian Roper, general manager of Beaches Ocho Rios — which will be hosting one of the seminars — said that the talents at his resort were looking forward to the additional specialised training.

“We understand the need for seminars in the area of autism and this will no doubt make us better at providing a more inclusive and caring environment for both our young and adult guests.” Roper said.

Perlita Trail, principal of Boscobel Primary School, which is adopted by the Sandals Foundation, said her teachers were “very excited” at the prospect of receiving autism sensitisation training. This, she noted, would make them better able to handle cases of autism among students and members of the various surrounding communities.

“We commend Beaches Resorts, Sandals Foundation and Sesame Street for this awesome initiative. It is something we welcome and we will no doubt share the knowledge gleaned with as many other teachers as possible,” the principal added.