Russian Aquarium Singles out Autistic Children - What the Heck?
By talfonso
@talfonso (246)
United States
May 2, 2012 4:57pm CST
I mean, really - the Moscow Oceanarium, which opened not so long ago in Russia, turned away a school group from visiting. They told them they should come back on cleanup days. Why? They told officials that the pupils are all autistic when planning the field trip out. All autistic.
The aquarium is too reluctant to let the children in because they disappoint other visitors. I understand why they are so fearful of affected kids negatively affecting others' visits. Most of them stim (flap their arms, sing loudly to themselves mindlessly), scream because of too much light or smells, and talk endlessly on obsessive topics.
Those things that most autistic people do to cope with the all-too-typical sensory overload obviously are the fears expressed by aquarium officials. So why are they just singling out autistic kids from the public just because of those fears?
If the same would have happened in America, it would violate the Americans with Disabilities act stat. If aquariums there give officials the green light to designate inconvenient days for autistic children to go on field trips, go ahead.
Just don't blame me if adults can't go to any of the 4 Walt Disney World parks and Disneylands around the globe simply because they are "too old!" UGH.
What do you think?
Source - http://rt.com/news/autistic-children-denied-oceanarium-visit-241
2 people like this
2 responses
@lakantar (1573)
• Greece
3 May 12
That sure is wrong, since I have a family member with autism (my brother) I don't think that people with disabilities should be left out of any activities "normal" people do. Trips of autistic schools usually make a big impact on those kids since they learn how to interact with other people. Did they take any measures against the aquarium? Since I only read that the board took measures against the stuff who they usually only follow orders by the board.
@lakantar (1573)
• Greece
8 May 12
I don't think that it must be focused on legal issues rather than human issues. Nowadays people are more educated and more informed to understand issues like this one, maybe the board of the company or the boards from most of the companies should be informed about people with disabilities so they can evaluate their next confrontation with a person with disabilities the next time :)
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
6 Jun 12
Hiya talfonso,
So very wrong of them to do that to those poor children. I knew a Woman who had four autistic children but she never has had these kind of problems with taking them on trips and all that kind of thing.
Autistic children do those kind of things yes bue the Oceanarium was the last place I would have thought that would do a thing like that.
Whenever I met up with that Lady with the four Children her children were waving their arms about and such like I knew that they had this kind of behaviour and I did not react wrongly to it like a lot of People do.
However the Woman had to have an awful lot of help in their education.
Over here they are never singled out and stopped from going anywhere as long as they are with a Carer who knows how to look after them.xxx
