COLUMBIA -- According to statistics, one out of 150 kids are diagnosed with autism.
While the effects of the disorder can be far reaching, it's often the little things that get overlooked. It can be difficult, for instance, for autistic kids to sit through a movie at the theater.
The environment's often too loud, too cold or too dark.
Some MU students are trying to help. They're starting something called "Sensory Sensitive Saturdays." The group held a special screening of the movie "G-Force" at Hollywood Theaters in Columbia for autistic kids and their parents.
"A lot of parents came in saying that they had never been able to take their son or daughter to a movie before," said Lauren Chronister, an MU student with the school's Department of Occupational Therapy. "Or that they've never even tried because they were too scared that they wouldn't be able to sit through it or that they wouldn't be able to keep quiet."
Chronister said kids could be themselves, without fear and that the parents were "really excited" about the screenings. There were no previews, the temperature was a bit warmer and the lights dimmed to make things more comfortable.
The MU students say they want to do these special sensory screenings once a month.
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