Dang Koe remembers bringing her son Gio, 20, to an SM mall. Gio, who was then in his early teens, was headed for the comfort room designated for persons with special needs. After buzzing for assistance, Koe recalled that the first staff that approached first looked closely at her son, pausing for a few seconds to think, before being nudged shortly by a mall colleague to let the boy in. Gio has autism.
“As my son was entering the comfort room, I could hear that the other staff was explaining to his colleague what autism is. I am glad. You know that they are aware of it,” Koe recounts.
Koe also recalls another story of an SM manager who helped a boy with autism in a regional mall. With a throng of shoppers usually gathering outside of the mall before it opens, a boy with autism was already becoming restless and was about to break into a tantrum. The SM manager quickly saw this and talked with the mall guard to allow the family to get inside the mall.
“He recognized the autism. That mall manager made an exemption. Immediately, he told the guard, it’s okay, and to let the family inside the mall, thereby avoiding a meltdown,” Koe says.
SM has always ensured that all its malls provide a second home and offer sufficient accessibility to families with special needs. In all SM malls, there are dedicated areas for parking and disembarking, special restrooms, ramps, braille signs, designated areas in theaters and dining rooms, as well as utilities within accessible height like pay phones and wash room sinks. Mall security guards and personnel are also trained to respond to the unique needs of persons with special needs. Other than making the malls physically accessible to the disabled, the malls also developed and installed special video relay service units at SM Mall of Asia and SM North Edsa to provide free service to assist the hearing and speech impaired.
Beyond providing accessibility and service, SM’s programs have evolved to foster awareness about issues affecting persons with special needs and to celebrate their membership and contribution to society. For one, SM annually hosts the Angels Walk for Autism in partnership with the Autism Society of the Philippines and numerous institutions to celebrate Philippine Autism Week. Koe is the chair emeritus of the Autism Society Philippines (ASP) and has been working closely with SM in promoting awareness about autism.