Surveying & Training for hospitality, travel and leisure

Many autistic people desperately want to access relaxing and fun spaces; but even as we approach 2026, it is still more difficult than it should be. How then do venues make it a bit easier? Listening to those customers is the first step, and a close second is developing a wider knowledge base and a plan that aims to tailor support to each individual. This is easier said than done as evidenced by the existing array of autism/neurodivergent training, and more venues offering quiet times and other adjustments; many venues are clearly aware and actively making efforts to help. But many autistic people and their families still avoid going out, and still report numerous challenges accessing such spaces. From personal experience, and initial wider research, it seems the variation of needs, combined with current generic approaches appear to have their limitations.  There are many reasons including the anxiety of calling ahead to ask staff for individual adjustments, and the fear of being misjudged or met with intolerance from other customers. The will is there but the way is not quite there yet. 

Foundational knowledge is still important but we want to build upon this in a manner that is specific to your business and customer needs. Our training is also co-developed with autistic people, carers, parents and health and education professionals, ensuring it represents all perspectives and needs . We want to support your business to respond with empathy, flexibility, clarity and confidence.  And alongside our directory customer feedback, and development awards, we are also looking to provide CPD and potential academic recognition on completion of our training.   

Minimum Requirement:

Pre entry requirements : must have completed a suitable foundational knowledge base from either our foundation course or a similar course from another provider.

Staff completion rate - depends on size of organisation, but we recommend between 50% -75% of customer-facing staff trained and all/most managers/supervisors trained

VK

Duration: 1–2 hours

Format: 100% online, theory, self-paced

Who for? Perfect for all customer-facing staff within Hospitality , Tourism and Leisure

What's in it? : 

• What autism and neurodivergence are — and what they aren't

• Understanding sensory, communication, social, behavioural and other differences

• Common challenges autistic people face in HTL venues (noise, crowds, unpredictability, queues, sensory overload, unmet support needs, etc.)

• Featured input from autistic/neurodivergent people and carers

• Discussion of relevant research around autism/neurodivergent accessibility specific to hospitality, tourism and leisure. 

• Examples of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism best practices 

• Practical, simple steps staff can take to make interactions smoother and more supportive

This training directly supports the Gold and Platinum levels of your Viva Kai Awards system

This specialised training builds on the introduction and teaches staff to confidently interpret and respond to the individual support needs of autistic and neurodivergent guests — including practical instruction on how to use and understand the Spectrum(+) Access Card. Starting with building an understanding of the broad complexity of autism/neurodivergence and need for individualised approaches via six categories of needs:

• Sensory processing difficulties/differences

• Cognitive difficulties/differences

• Social and communication difficulties/differences

• Safety and support needs

• Behavioural and regulation differences

Practical support strategies

• How guests may choose to share their card details and how to respond appropriately, calmly, and respectfully.

• Tailoring support based on the specific icons/symbols chosen by customers

• How your team can become consistent, confident, and proactive

• Preparing for busy periods or sensory-intense events

• Scenario-based problem solving

A further breakdown of the specific and wide variety of autistic and other neurodivergent challenges/differences and how these often overlap (via reference to the 28 access card symbols)

Autism & ND inclusion for Hospitality, Tourism & Leisure

This training contributes to the Silver level of our Viva Kai Awards system

• YouTube channels/other videos and Podcasts

• Research articles and summaries

• Related magazines, blogs, and media

• Case studies, and guides

• Regular updates and inspiration on how to get involved in projects with academics and autistic groups via the Collaboration Page

Spectrum (+) Advance Autism & ND Support for HTL

This ensures your team stays connected to community voices and current best practice — supporting the “Ongoing relevant learning” requirement for our Platinum level award recognition

Minimum Requirement:

No pre entry requirements. Please note, if you have completed a relevant approved course by an other provider, you may not need to complete this - you can find a list of approved courses here.

Recommended staff completion rate - this depends on size of organisation, but we recommend between 50% -75% of customer-facing staff trained and all/most managers/supervisors trained

HTL Autism & Neurodivergence Learning Hub

True inclusion is an ongoing practice.
To help your venue continually grow, all staff are encouraged to access and contribute to our various autistic and neurodivergent knowledge exchange resources - we hope to bring you a variety of options to suit available staff time and learning styles:

Minimum Requirement:

In order for venues to make the most of this facility, you should have first completed at least our foundation training or similar. And we recommend the majority of customer-facing staff to engage with these ongoing learning opportunities.