Alabama-based nonprofit partners with Cleveland Cavaliers to create first NBA arena equipped for autistic children

CLEVELAND, Ohio — With the NBA Finals now in Cleveland, at least one more game will be played in the Cavaliers’ Quicken Loans Arena. Built in 1992, the arena has seen both heartbreak and triumph, including the city’s first professional sports championship since the Browns won the old NFL Championship in 1964. But over time, the arena has evolved and become more inclusive to allow more and more people enjoy the beauty of the game. Most recently, it became the first NBA arena to be deemed sensory inclusive to fans with autism.

Enter Birmingham-based non-profit KultureCity, a group that focuses on increasing accessibility for autistic children. Its ultimate goal is to create a culture that is more accessible and therefore more accepting. Amongst the vast body of KultureCity’s work is a unique partnership with the Cavaliers to make Quicken Loans Arena a more welcoming place for autistic children, veterans with PTSD, and the aging with dementia.

The Cavaliers Organization decided to make a change after an incident last season led to a fan with non-verbal autism being denied his iPad upon entry to the game. The young fan uses the iPad and an external speaker to communicate, but the staff was not equipped to properly handle the situation. Seeing the error of their ways, management immediately reached out to the parent to find a solution to the problem.

@amy_belles @cavsdan saw your tweet! Can you please follow and DM us so that we can learn more about what happened? Thanks!

— The Q Assist (@TheQAssist) February 28, 2016

KultureCity was contacted to help correct the accessibility problem with the facilities and staff. The nonprofit, led by Julian Maha, certifies sensory-friendly environments that allow overstimulated autistic children to unwind and regroup. For example, if these children find themselves coming undone in a noisy crowd, a quieter environment will calm them. To that end, KultureCity developed “Sensory Bags” with useful tools like noise-cancelling headphones, fiddle cubes, stress balls, and other goodies that tremendously help to unwind overstimulated, autistic children.

In addition to KultureCity’s Sensory Bags, the Q will have trained event staff and a Quiet Space Sensory Room where fans can go to decompress.

“This is the very first time that you’re reaching out to a population that any league has never tapped into,” Maha told SB Nation. “This is actually saying you guys are our fans as well, and we’re going to include you in everything that we do.”

Game four of the NBA Finals between the Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors will be at Quicken Loans Arena on Friday at 8:00 CST on ESPN.