Participating malls across the state invite youth of all ages and abilities to meet Santa.

Autism Speaks is partnering with Cherry Hill Programs this holiday season to provide sensory-friendly Santa Experiences for families across the country.

All families of children with autism and other special needs can enjoy a visit with Santa in a more subdued and calm environment.

Click here for the list of Cherry Hill Programs Santa Photo Experiences in Illinois.

Sensory-friendly Santa events are free and keepsake photo packages will be available for purchase.

Open-captioned performances, touch tours, audio-described performances and autism/sensory-friendly performances available for upcoming theater productions.

Chicago’s Lifeline Theatre offers a number of accessible shows this fall and winter for individuals with disabilities. A full list of the theater’s accessibility services and upcoming special performances is at www.lifelinetheatre.com/accessibility/.

For people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, Lifeline has several open captioned performances of productions for children and adults that feature a text display of the words and sounds heard during a production.

For people who are blind or have low vision, the theater offers pre-show touch tours that let audience members visit the set, feel the props and costumes and meet the characters before the performance. Audio-described performances provide a live commentary by trained describers, interspersed with the actors’ dialogue.

Autism/sensory-friendly performances for children are also scheduled and provide a relaxed experience for individuals on the autism spectrum and others with cognitive and developmental disabilities.

Anyone interested in more information can contact Accessibility Coordinator Erica Foster directly at (773) 761-4477, ext. 703, or  access@lifelinetheatre.com, or in person at the Lifeline Box Office (6912 N. Glenwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60626) Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.