Walmart Is Hosting Sensory-Friendly Shopping Hours for Back-to-School Shopping. Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Can you believe it’s time for back-to-school shopping? As sad as we are to think about summer coming to a close, there are few small pleasures quite as joyous as stocking up on crisp new notebooks, sharp pencils and fresh crayons to start the fall off right. This year Walmart is making it easier for those with sensory disabilities to partake in the joys of shopping for school supplies IRL with sensory-friendly shopping hours. Here’s everything you need to know.

During specially designated store hours, Walmart will be implementing various changes to help reduce potentially disorienting stimuli for those with sensory disabilities. For instance, TVs and screens that would normally showing moving images will instead display static photos, radios and music will be turned off and overhead lights will be lowered. (If you’re curious about the specifics of your local store’s plan, we suggest calling ahead to get the details.)

Sensory-friendly shopping hours will take place every Saturday between 8 and 10 a.m. local time, starting on July 8 and running through August 26. For areas where school starts after Labor Day, sensory-friendly shopping hours with begin on July 22 and run through September 9. There are also select stores whose hours may differ from the above, so if you have any questions your best bet is to call, just to confirm.

As an added bonus, you can search for your school in Walmart’s school supply list registry for a digital copy of everything you need ahead of the school year and links to buy directly if you prefer to shop online, or just to have handy while you stroll the aisles.