The Lake Washington Symphony Orchestra is trying something different this weekend to accommodate families affected by autism spectrum disorder or other sensory sensitivities.

“I read about an autistic child and his mother being booed and hissed out of a play in New York,” Elaine Walters, LWSO executive director, said of how the orchestra came up with the idea to do a concert like this. “I can’t imagine how I would feel if I had a child with a sensitivity … maybe I wouldn’t go out and try to get these experiences for my child which can be very beneficial.”

The concert will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Westminster Chapel in Bellevue. Tickets are $5 for adults and free for kids 18 and younger. Vouchers are available for families who can’t afford admission.

The orchestra consulted with students from Seattle Pacific University and the Seattle Symphony, which had a similar sensory-friendly concert series last year. Kristin Schneider, education and community engagement manager with the Seattle Symphony, served as a sounding board for the LWSO in preparation for the Saturday concert.

“Lake Washington is really emphasizing the fact that audience members can respond to the music however they need to, which is also how we organized our concerts,” she said.

The LWSO has a pre-listening guide to help prepare kids for the concert, and they are encouraged to bring items of comfort with them to the performance.

Before the show, at 10 a.m., the LWSO will have an instrument “petting zoo” available for families to meet the instruments. During the show, people will hold up signs to let the audience know when the music is about to be really loud, and there will be an area outside of the performance space for anyone who needs to take a break.

“It’s really exciting to me to hear about what they are doing in their organization,” Schneider said. “It’s a very different program from what we have (at the Seattle Symphony), but I think it’s really important for families to have lots of different options and different ways to engage with symphonic music.”

The LWSO has another performance scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, with a “Tunes from Toons” theme. The concert will feature 11-year-old Bellevue violin soloist Sophie Lee, who just won a gold medal at an international competition in London. Tickets are $35 for adults, $25 for seniors, $15 for students and free for children under 12.

For more information, visit lwso.org.