Angels for autism MARIA & MAC'S REWARDING JOURNEY

The happy, safe places they design are a hit with special Kiwi kids!

- Fiona Terry

As more than 100,000 people gathered at Auckland’s Eden Parkfor one of the country’s biggest concerts, global pop sensation Pink, Maria BojÓrquez Pouniu was busy preparing a special area of the stadium with a colourful ambience of its own to support fans with autism.

The sensory room she designed and created featured relaxing music, tactile furnishings, calming lights, a gyrochair and weighted blankets. Every aspect was specifically made to support people with autism, who can find large crowds, loud noises and the excitement of such grand-scale gatherings overwhelming.

As a play coach for Autism New Zealand and mum of five-year-old Mattias, who is autistic, Maria knew it would be in high demand for both of Pink’s highenergy shows.

“We had over 120 people come – some just for a little while to re-regulate and some returned a number of times,” says Maria, 41, who worked on the custom zone with husband Mac Mata’utia Pouniu.

The pair were first asked by FIFA to establish the facility at Eden Park for the Women’s World Cup 2023 so the event could be more inclusive to the neurodivergent community.

Maria and Mac were delighted to put their knowledge to wider use and it’s been so successful, the couple now manage it on an ongoing basis.

The high-profile request to work with Eden Park comes after the success of the couple’s Mt Albert based Spectroom Play Zone, which opened in 2022 and is designed by them especially for children with autism.

Autism is a neuro developmental condition that affects cognitive function, sensory and social processing, and changes the way people see the world and interact with others.