August 16, 2019
Going back to school can be harder for some kids. To make the
transition easy, Rice Krispies Treats’, a leading food product marketed by
American multinational Kellogg Company, is supplying sensory “love notes”
that parents can give children on the autism spectrum as they go back to
school.
Not all kids look forward to the prospect of going back to school. Getting
used to a new school or even a different classroom can be daunting. For
children on the autism spectrum who tend to feel more anxious, it can be even
more intimidating.
In a thoughtful move, Rice Krispies Treats’, one of the
leading food products marketed by American multinational brand
Kellogg Company has partnered with well-known US non-profit
Autism Speaks to develop sensory “love notes”
that parents of children with autism can give to them as they go back to
school.
These Touch-and-Feel Sensory Stickers, as they are called, are a
set of four, lightly reusable stickers that are designed for
children on the autism spectrum to feel loved through a range of calm colours
and different textures. The textures include silk, fleece, faux fur, satin
and velour. The aim to to comfort children with autism, many of whom respond
positively to tactile experiences.
This is the third year that Rice Krispies Treats’ has created notes to help
ease the back to school transition. In 2017, the notes had encouraging
messages and last year Rice Krispies Treats’ partnered with the
National Federation of the Blind to create Braille
stickers and re-recordable audio boxes for children who are blind and
low vision. The Braille stickers are heart-shaped and line up with the heart
on the Rice Krispies Treats’ wrapper. Each sheet has eight phrases like
“You’ve Got This” and “Love You Lots”. The stickers were designed with the
help of Ema, a blind girl who is musically gifted and uses
the power of music to reach out to others.
“I think its important to tell your kids that you love them and now that Rice
Krispies Treats has Braille stickers I can send messages to Eme”, says her
mother, Tabby in this video. “Her brothers and sisters can send
messages to her”. Adds Eme, “Its likes getting a letter and it feels loved
like someone took the trouble of writing that letter”.
Sarah Reinecke, Marketing Director of Rice Krispies Treats’
says the response to the Braille stickers led the team to think of reaching
out to more kids.
“It was very well-received by members of the blind and low-vision community,
so we knew we wanted to continue to bring love to more audiences in the
future,” said Reinecke in an interview to PR Week. The idea
of the notes is to send love and affection in a different way to children
during the back-to-school season.
What adds power to these ideas are the real-life stories of families. “We
brought this story to life with one family in our content and have also
shared personal stories from the Kellogg Company families,” said Reinecke.
The video on the sensory stickers features S.J. Monville, a
kindergarten student with autism who is changing schools this year. His
mother Kayla talks about the challenges of raising a child
on the spectrum and the video goes on to explain how the sensory notes will
make the transition easier for him.
You can watch the video here
Order the Sensory Love Notes
Order the Braille Stickers here
Source: https://newzhook.com/story/kelloggs-rice-krispies-treats-sensory-love-notes-for-children-with-autism
