Normals vs. Specials

I had an uncomfortable encounter with a normal this weekend.

Once a month, AMC has a special showing of a family movie that is for families with special needs children. This allows our son to wander around and make noise however he likes during the movie. There are usually 2 or 3 other special needs families, and my son runs around visiting the other children, asking them memorized questions. This is actually pretty odd behavior for a child with Autism, and it shows that he is making progress socially.

Unfortunately, this last weekend, we had an issue with a normal who was in our theater. About 30 minutes into the movie, the woman stands up and yells for someone to control their child. Of course the child in question was my son. My wife and I explained that our son had Autism and that he couldn't control himself like her normal children.

I then had to tell my son not to bother the woman or her children. He didn't know how to handle it and immediately shrank inside of himself. For the next 20 minutes, he just sat there staring into space. My wife and I were both livid. All of the progress we had been making with him was neutralized with a single statement. My wife rarely stands up for herself or makes a seen, but she went to the manager to tell him what happened, and she was still fuming on the drive home from the theater.

Apparently, the ticket takers had forgotten to mention that it was a special sensory friendly showing for children with special needs, but it is still difficult not to be upset with the woman who shattered our safe little movie zone. And while I can understand why the movie theater would still let normal families in, it is still difficult not to be upset because of this. It is supposed to be a safe zone where our children will not be judged for who they are. I felt violated by what happened, and I was upset about the potential damage to our son's budding socializing.