AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)
A family restaurant in Aberdeen has come under fire after refusing to cater for a seven-year-old autistic boy.
Johanna with sons Jack, 7, and Danny, 4.
Johanna Gowie was out for a meal at Dyce Farm at ABZ Business Park in Dyce with her fiance Stephen and two young children Danny, 4, and Jack, who is severely autistic.
The family requested to not be seated in the family area of the restaurant, fearing the noisy environment would be stressful for Jack.
Johanna, who lives in Bucksburn, said: “I explained Jack’s diagnosis – he has autism and ADHD, so he can be quite challenging.
“The family zone would have been completely overwhelming for him and all we wanted to do was stay away from other families so Jack could eat his meal in peace.”
She added she was told it was the restaurant’s policy and “they weren’t moving an inch”.
Johanna said: “You can’t do that to people in this day and age. Jack has a blue badge and he’s registered as disabled, but we should be able to go to our local restaurant and have a meal without this happening.
“Jack ended up having a meltdown and at that point there’s nothing you can do. He bites his hand when he’s frustrated as well, so he was physically injuring himself. It was awful.”
Johanna is now fighting to have the restaurant’s policy changed for future families with children with additional support needs.
She said: “I’ll never be going back to that restaurant regardless, but my main worry is that it could happen to others.
A spokeswoman for the restaurant today apologised to the family and pledged to change its policy in the future.
She said: “We are a family-friendly restaurant and strive to cater for any special requirements of our guests. We are very sorry for any distress caused to the guest and her family and we are currently working closely with her to implement new guidelines for our teams that will ensure this doesn’t happen in any of our restaurants again.”
The National Autism Society also expressed its concern over the incident and stressed the importance of raising awareness about the condition.
A spokeswoman for the charity said: “We are really sorry to hear that Johanna and her family were refused the option to sit in a quieter part of the restaurant, especially when they had explained that it was due to Jack’s autism. Autistic people can end up having meltdowns if they feel overloaded with too much information from lights, noise or other people.
“Almost half of autistic people say they often don’t leave the house because of the public’s reaction to them. That is why the National Autistic Society is working to improve understanding to ensure restaurants make the small adjustments that mean the 58,000 autistic people in Scotland can enjoy public places, just like everyone else.”
Source: https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp...-boy-7-and-mum-left-in-tears-over-treatment1/
A family restaurant in Aberdeen has come under fire after refusing to cater for a seven-year-old autistic boy.
Johanna with sons Jack, 7, and Danny, 4.
Johanna Gowie was out for a meal at Dyce Farm at ABZ Business Park in Dyce with her fiance Stephen and two young children Danny, 4, and Jack, who is severely autistic.
The family requested to not be seated in the family area of the restaurant, fearing the noisy environment would be stressful for Jack.
Johanna, who lives in Bucksburn, said: “I explained Jack’s diagnosis – he has autism and ADHD, so he can be quite challenging.
“The family zone would have been completely overwhelming for him and all we wanted to do was stay away from other families so Jack could eat his meal in peace.”
She added she was told it was the restaurant’s policy and “they weren’t moving an inch”.
Johanna said: “You can’t do that to people in this day and age. Jack has a blue badge and he’s registered as disabled, but we should be able to go to our local restaurant and have a meal without this happening.
“Jack ended up having a meltdown and at that point there’s nothing you can do. He bites his hand when he’s frustrated as well, so he was physically injuring himself. It was awful.”
Johanna is now fighting to have the restaurant’s policy changed for future families with children with additional support needs.
She said: “I’ll never be going back to that restaurant regardless, but my main worry is that it could happen to others.
A spokeswoman for the restaurant today apologised to the family and pledged to change its policy in the future.
She said: “We are a family-friendly restaurant and strive to cater for any special requirements of our guests. We are very sorry for any distress caused to the guest and her family and we are currently working closely with her to implement new guidelines for our teams that will ensure this doesn’t happen in any of our restaurants again.”
The National Autism Society also expressed its concern over the incident and stressed the importance of raising awareness about the condition.
A spokeswoman for the charity said: “We are really sorry to hear that Johanna and her family were refused the option to sit in a quieter part of the restaurant, especially when they had explained that it was due to Jack’s autism. Autistic people can end up having meltdowns if they feel overloaded with too much information from lights, noise or other people.
“Almost half of autistic people say they often don’t leave the house because of the public’s reaction to them. That is why the National Autistic Society is working to improve understanding to ensure restaurants make the small adjustments that mean the 58,000 autistic people in Scotland can enjoy public places, just like everyone else.”
Source: https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp...-boy-7-and-mum-left-in-tears-over-treatment1/
