On a day designed to welcome and acknowledge individuals and families from the autistic community, the Worcester Red Sox celebrated their third annual Autism Acceptance Day, presented by Unum, at Polar Park Saturday, April 29.

Autism Acceptance Day was attended by many WooSox community partners and included pre-game ceremonies featuring several individuals representing the autism community. WooSox Coordinator of Marketing and Fan Engagement George Lorin said the day is meant to raise awareness and honor some of the organizations that the WooSox collaborate with year-round.

“It means a lot to us, having those community partners, because those relationships really help symbolize our efforts to be more than a ballpark,” Lorin said. “We are a baseball team, of course, but we want to be involved in all aspects of people’s lives and let them know that they can rely on us to be there for them in any way possible.”

During pre-game ceremonies, the WooSox welcomed and honored representatives from ABA Centers of America and the New England Center for Children. Malu Khouri, a student at Crossroads Continuum, threw a first pitch, as did Cameron Farrell, who threw his first pitch on behalf of Unum. Spectrum of Sound, the choir of the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, performed a beautiful and inspiring rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Pictured Above: Malu Khouri throws a Ceremonial First Pitch on behalf of Crossroads Continuum, a nonprofit organization and school dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals with autism and related disorders.

At home WooSox games, every fan in attendance has access to the Unum Sensory Friendly Room inside the Country Bank Fan Services Center. Located on the first base side of the concourse, the room is a quiet space where fans can take a break from the noise and excitement of the ballpark and enjoy coloring pages and sensory-friendly toys.

For Autism Acceptance Day, Suites 1 and 21 transformed into Autism Affinity Areas and served as additional spaces for fans if they needed a private space to go during the game. Lorin said it is important to have such spaces so that every fan can feel safe and comfortable at Polar Park.

“You come to a ballpark, and as great of an atmosphere as it is, sometimes it can be overwhelming,” Lorin said. “Sometimes the concourse, the traffic of people walking, the loud sounds of the game, the music, everything—it can be overwhelming for some. Sometimes you just need a break from that. That’s the whole point of the Sensory Friendly Room. It’s supposed to be a place where you can get away from the action, where parents can take their kids, or if someone just needs a breather.”

To increase comfort and promote accessibility for fans, Lorin said Polar Park offered early-entrance tours before the gates opened to the public.

“We offer complimentary early-entrance tours for people who want to come tour the ballpark a little bit early so that they can be aware of some of the spaces, and also so that they can get comfortable a little bit before everybody else,” Lorin said. “We do these tours before gates even open so that they have plenty of time to come in, relax, get a feel of the space, know where they can go, where the restrooms are, where Fan Services is, where the Sensory Friendly Room is, where the Autism Affinity Areas are. We want them to have the best experience possible.”

As a Polar Park tour guide, WooSox Ambassador Kevin Hartigan said the early-entrance tours provided fans a first look at the ballpark in a simple, informative, and enjoyable manner. He said that in addition to appreciating the resources and overall feel of acceptance at the ballpark, families with autistic children were thankful for the opportunity to visit different areas before game time.

“[Polar Park] is a place where they feel comfortable, and I think that’s always a positive no matter where you’re going,” Hartigan said. “Now they know they can come to a baseball game. They can come to a beautiful park, and they’re accepted. There are places for them to go and be and have fun.”

According to Hartigan, a father of a child with autism thanked him personally after taking an early-entrance tour. Hartigan said he could tell the family was enjoying their outing at Polar Park when he spotted them during the game.

“They were there for the whole game,” Hartigan said. “It’s not like it was one of those bad experiences where they were leaving after a couple innings. No, they were having fun. I saw them the whole game.”

Even when it is not Autism Acceptance Day, Lorin said it is important for everyone who visits Polar Park to know that it is a place where all fans are welcome and have the resources they need to enjoy their outing.

“We want you to feel comfortable,” Lorin said. “We want you to know that this is a place where you can enjoy the game and you have what you need to have that enjoyable experience and make those memories.”

Along those same lines, Hartigan said a baseball game should be a place that everyone can enjoy, and Polar Park does a good job building and catering to those positive experiences.

“I hope that we continue to make [Autism Acceptance Day] an enjoyable night for everybody,” he said. “It’s easy for the general public, like me as a baseball fan, to go to the game and have a good time. Now we can extend that out to everybody.”