Backpack loan program for neurodivergent people launched on North Shore

A tourism association on Metro Vancouver's North Shore has started up a program to lend out backpacks containing items to help people, including kids, with neurodevelopmental disorders access tourist attractions.

At an event Tuesday, Vancouver's North Shore Tourism Association said the neurodivergent sensory backpacks will include items like noise-cancelling headphones, earplugs and sensory toys — as well as maps highlighting tourist attractions which are neurodivergent-friendly.

People who are neurodivergent — the broad term used to describe people who have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), are on the autism spectrum or have a disability that affects their ability to focus and keep things in working memory — generally face issues in public areas, according to one mother.

Author and blogger Stephanie Rose, whose 12-year-old child Asher is neurodivergent, said that neurodevelopmental disorders can pose sensory challenges in public areas.

She said at the Tuesday event that Asher helped take the backpacks for a test run, and that her son was immediately engaged and attracted to the different spaces they visited — which range from indoor locations like the Museum and Archives of North Vancouver to the region's famed hiking trails.

"For me, what was most important was the list of locations that are sensory-friendly — the places where you feel like you can go and not have to dive through the challenges that exist for parents," Rose told CBC News.

"It makes you feel like the carpet has been rolled out and that you can be yourself."

Jennifer Belak, the executive director of the tourism association, said that the backpack can also feature raincoats or umbrellas to help visitors during the region's long rainy months.

"There's lots of attractions and stuff that recognize it, including the Blue Grouse Gondola," she said of the backpack. "And they'll even go as far as giving you your own gondola now, so you can have that quiet space as you go up to the top of the mountain."

WATCH | Sensory backpack aims to improve accessibility: 

Sensory backpack aims to make outdoor activities more accessible

2 days ago

Duration 1:58

For some, summer in the Lower Mainland means a stacked schedule of hiking, swimming and camping. But those activities aren't always accessible to people with autism or other neurological conditions. As Maryam Gamar reports, a new tool aims to remove some of those barriers in Metro Vancouver’s North Shore.

City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan said the program sent a powerful message that neurodivergent people were welcome in the region.

"Whether it's a child with autism visiting a museum for the first time, or an adult seeking a calm experience in our outdoor spaces, this backpack program provides real practical support," she said.

The Public Health Agency of Canada estimated in 2019 that one in 50 kids aged 1-17 has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with males being diagnosed approximately four times more frequently than females. 

Anyone who wants to borrow a backpack — which they can do for up to 15 days — can do so at the Museum of North Vancouver.