Julie Brown

hometownlife.com

Children with autism and other special needs will enjoy a 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, sensory-friendly showing of the movie “Finding Dory” at the Penn Theatre in downtown Plymouth.

“This is our first time trying it,” said Ellen Elliott, executive director of the Friends of the Penn. “We’ll just see how it goes. Everybody is welcome. There are no restrictions,” she added, noting it’s not just for autistic children.

The showing is sponsored by Autism Compass Consulting with the Penn Theatre as host and will have the lights turned up and volume turned down. Gluten-free snacks will be available and kids can get up and dance.

“Finding Dory,” which tells the animated tale of a friendly but forgetful fish named Dory, continues the story of “Finding Nemo” of several years ago. “Finding Dory” is rated PG and runs 97 minutes. Admission is $3 each.

Elliott, a Plymouth resident, noted the “activity, moving around and noise” will make the showing different from others. “I think it’s a good thing to try,” she said. “People have different needs and we want to meet those needs.”

The box office of the theater adjacent to Kellogg Park will open a half-hour before the showing, without any advance ticket sales. That’s the practice for all Penn Theatre showings.

Other show times for “Finding Dory” (which will not be sensory-friendly) are: 7 and 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26; 4:45 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27; 4:45 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28; and 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1.

The Penn Theatre is online at www.penntheatre.com. Its phone is 734-453-0870.

Autism Compass provides a variety of services for families and individuals with autism and other developmental and social disorders, including consulting, guidance and special social skills classes that allow individuals to learn necessary, everyday life skills that will help them succeed at home, in school, on the job and in their daily lives, a press release notes.

For more information about Autism Compass, go to www.autismcompassconsulting.com or call 844-273-4273.