As part of the Council’s work to make Cardiff a more neurodivergent-friendly city, the new set of resources have been collated to ensure that people with sensory needs have a better experience of accessing the facilities and services at hubs and libraries across the city.

This Neurodiversity Celebration Week (March 17 – 23), the Council is encouraging customers to borrow the resources which include a range of objects, including fidget toys, ear defenders, lamps, back rests and fans, desk dividers, coloured overlays, extra lighting, timers and more, to use during their visit.

The resources are available from the reception desk and are stored in clear bags so that visitors can see the contents and feel confident that they meet their needs before borrowing them.

The bags were compiled by the Council’s Neurodivergent Friendly Cardiff team, Scope’s Youth Community Collective Cardiff and the Neuro Roots group within Cardiff Youth Service at a special launch event at Central Library Hub. The bags have been donated by Scope and the contents have been funded from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.

Cabinet Member for Social Services (Adults), Cllr Leonora Thomson, said: “I was delighted to join the young people who helped pack all the resources into the bags that have been distributed to hubs and libraries across the city, so I could thank them for their involvement and efforts in bringing together such a useful resource for customers in our communities. We’re also very grateful to Scope, our partner on this project, for their inspiration, insight and support that has made this initiative possible.

“All the resources in the bags are there to help customers with sensory needs to feel more comfortable when they are visiting a hub or library.

“Cardiff is on a journey to become a city more supportive of neurodivergent people and their families and I’m so pleased we are able to offer this resource to customers, as we seek to create more neuro-affirming, accessible facilities in the city.”

As well as clear bags with useful resources, hubs and libraries now also have smaller blue backpacks containing early years sensory resources for younger children to borrow during their visits. Parents from the Cygnet Parenting Program delivered by Cardiff Parenting helped to identify the resources that would be helpful for families to borrow.

Cllr Thomson added: “The sensory resources are just one element of our work to improve our facilities for neurodivergent customers. The hubs and library service has recently trained Neurodiversity Champions to support neurodivergent visitors and colleagues, and to support the creation of neurodivergent-friendly environments in our facilities.”