Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats’ sensory love notes ease back to school transition for children with autism

Going back to school can be harder for some kids. To make the transition easy, Rice Krispies Treats’, a leading food product marketed by American multinational Kellogg Company, is supplying sensory “love notes” that parents can give children on the autism spectrum as they go back to school.

Not all kids look forward to the prospect of going back to school. Getting used to a new school or even a different classroom can be daunting. For children on the autism spectrum who tend to feel more anxious, it can be even more intimidating.

In a thoughtful move, Rice Krispies Treats’, one of the leading food products marketed by American multinational brand Kellogg Company has partnered with well-known US non-profit Autism Speaks to develop sensory “love notes” that parents of children with autism can give to them as they go back to school.

These Touch-and-Feel Sensory Stickers, as they are called, are a set of four, lightly reusable stickers that are designed for children on the autism spectrum to feel loved through a range of calm colours and different textures. The textures include silk, fleece, faux fur, satin and velour. The aim to to comfort children with autism, many of whom respond positively to tactile experiences.

Consistent reach out

This is the third year that Rice Krispies Treats’ has created notes to help ease the back to school transition. In 2017, the notes had encouraging messages and last year Rice Krispies Treats’ partnered with the National Federation of the Blind to create Braille stickers and re-recordable audio boxes for children who are blind and low vision. The Braille stickers are heart-shaped and line up with the heart on the Rice Krispies Treats’ wrapper. Each sheet has eight phrases like “You’ve Got This” and “Love You Lots”. The stickers were designed with the help of Ema, a blind girl who is musically gifted and uses the power of music to reach out to others.

“I think its important to tell your kids that you love them and now that Rice Krispies Treats has Braille stickers I can send messages to Eme”, says her mother, Tabby in this video. “Her brothers and sisters can send messages to her”. Adds Eme, “Its likes getting a letter and it feels loved like someone took the trouble of writing that letter”.

Sarah Reinecke, Marketing Director of Rice Krispies Treats’ says the response to the Braille stickers led the team to think of reaching out to more kids.

“It was very well-received by members of the blind and low-vision community, so we knew we wanted to continue to bring love to more audiences in the future,” said Reinecke in an interview to PR Week. The idea of the notes is to send love and affection in a different way to children during the back-to-school season.

What adds power to these ideas are the real-life stories of families. “We brought this story to life with one family in our content and have also shared personal stories from the Kellogg Company families,” said Reinecke. The video on the sensory stickers features S.J. Monville, a kindergarten student with autism who is changing schools this year. His mother Kayla talks about the challenges of raising a child on the spectrum and the video goes on to explain how the sensory notes will make the transition easier for him.

You can watch the video here

Order the Sensory Love Notes

Order the Braille Stickers here

Watch in Sign Language