Children from around the west of Ireland are making their way to Galway this weekend for Santa visits with a difference.
Since its inception in 2017, the Sensory Santa event at the University of Galway has benefitted hundreds of families, giving those with additional needs a chance to experience what others might take for granted.
This year's event is fully booked with over 90 children allocated their own visiting time.
Olga McCullough, from Menlough, Co Galway, visited Santa with her husband Jonathan and their three-year-old daughter Sophia.
"Sophia was diagnosed with autism around a year and a half ago," said Ms McCullough.
"She’s non-verbal and there’s possibly some ADHD there too, so waiting in a queue is not a runner. Before this, we couldn’t bring her to Santy. So this is absolutely fantastic, she can run around and we can be more relaxed. It’s very important," she said.
As they each enjoy the bespoke experience, staff and students at the Psychology Department are on hand to ensure all eventualities are catered for.
Demand for these visits outstrips availability each year, but the University is encouraging communities around the country to follow its lead.
It is doing so by providing free advice and guidelines on how best to replicate the Sensory Santa experience at other locations.
Dr Helena Lydon from the School of Psychology at the University of Galway says it is quite easy to hold such an event, once "a bit of planning and thought goes into the process".
"Everything from the individualised slots the children get allocated, so they’re not overwhelmed when they arrive, to having a flow through the building, so no area gets too crowded, all help to make the event run smoothly," she said.
Olga McCullough said she would love to see similar initiatives elsewhere.
"As a parent of a child with autism, the littlest things that other parents take for granted can really pull your heartstrings," she said.
"There’s various things we actually can’t do because of that, and we miss out on little things but they end up being big things.
"So for something like this, it means the world really."
As well as helping families get into the Christmas spirit, Dr Lydon said organisers also get great joy from the weekend.
"Even small snapshots of children smiling, or families telling us that it’s their first family photo, all those things are really heartwarming and make it all worthwhile," she said.
As they prepared to head home, Jonathan McCullough reflected on the experience his daughter had just had.
"Each kid, they’re all little individuals, so you when you make something like this good for them, that’s what it’s all about," he said.
