Posted on 06/27/2013 2:45:11 PM PDT by matt04
An Ellington mother is upset after her son, who suffers from autism, was denied access to the swimming pool at a country club because he requires a flotation vest.
Cristin Millen told Eyewitness News her 8-year-old son, Aiden Robert, was denied access to the Ellington Ridge Country Club.
According to Millen, she signed up for a membership at Ellington Ridge Country Club and told them that Aiden Robert had autism and was required to wear a life jacket.
Millen said she asked officials at the country club to check to make sure that was OK.
When her husband Kevin called back Wednesday, employees at the country club said that Aiden Robert could not swim in their pool.
However, the president and general manager at the country club told Eyewitness News that Millen never submitted an application requesting a waiver to their policy of no flotation devices.
"We do have a policy in place for all of our members," said Richard Burness, president and chairman of the board at the Ellington Ridge Country Club. "There are no flotation devices allowed in our pool and I hope that's what was communicated to Mrs. Millen that is our policy."
The club president said Millen only inquired about it and never filled one out.
(Excerpt) Read more at wfsb.com ...
In the comments someone points out a YMCA is just minutes away, with a pool that allows flotation devices, no special paperwork required. Why didn’t they go there first?
Looking for a free membership perhaps.
She had a membership, just she hadn’t filled out a waiver for the life jacket. God forbid she take any responsibility, and the time it took little miss drama queen to find a reporter to complain to, she could have filled out the waiver and let the kid swim.
Big, big difference between a flotation vest and a flotation device! The flotation vest is for the boy’s safety, not for him to float on in the pool CC is wrong!
he can join the coed nude swims the YMCA offers. in Toronto anyways
If her child suffered from any other malady...this would not be news...at all
Basically, it would have been tough toenails...suck it up...
Autism is becoming "cause celeb"...
They expect us to believe that IF this kid had been in the pool, AND something happened to him, the parents wouldn’t sue the country club for their last penny?
It was the vest, lady
Not the autism\
I just bet that kid is potty trained too
I legitimately don’t care about autism, peanut allergies, gluten free, etc. campaigns. Most people involved are so self righteous and demeaning to others.
Just last week I saw a “mother” ask a store clerk if they carried a gluten-free version of some item. They politely said they did not nor could they order any, and suggested the customer contact the corporate office to make a product request.
The mother than proceed to tell the child, in front of the clerk “Let’s go somewhere where everyone cares about real people” and flipped the clerk the bird. I was nearby and said to the clerk, with the crazy mother still present, “great job at begin professional with someone like that, I will let you manger know.” She told me to “go F**k yourself” and stomped off.
Wow, that’s about the first time I’ve ever heard of anything that makes me the least bit interested in visiting Toronto. Their tourism department should publicize that more.
The worst part is that a lot of these “epidemic” sufferers are fakes. Not the kids, mind you, they don’t know any better, but the parents. There is a certain contingent that seems to decide that their children have some malady, just so that they can demand special treatment, I think. It seems to be a low level form of Munchausen by Proxy syndrome.
I had this feeling when the surge of ADD/Autism diagnoses hit, and it was confirmed by studies showing that diagnoses increased in areas where one child was diagnosed. The diseases aren’t contagious, so that means that someone (parents, or a doctor or teacher) was pushing for false diagnoses simply based on social exposure.
Recently, they have come to similar conclusions about the upsurge in food allergy diagnoses. Studies have shown that at least half of children whose parents claim they have food allergies actually have no food allergies when proper blind, controlled tests are performed.
It would be one thing for people who legitimately needed accommodation to be a bit unreasonable in demanding it, but when we’ve been catering to many who only have an imaginary need, it is infuriating.
Where on the Toronto YMCA website is that option offered? I was unable to find any proof that currently exists. Nude swimming in pools used to exist because the filters clogged from the fabrics people wore. Better materials came along and that went away.
You rarely fail to find a perverted or pedophilia related aspect to most subjects.
Exactly! Every time a kid has any medical or behavioral issue, some “expert” wants to turn it into a disease. Parents are all too willing to go along. Then they come up with silly reasons as to the cause (vaccines, dyes in food, etc.) and get hoodwinked by some quack alternative practitioner who has an equally silly (sometimes dangerous) treatment.
Yet another reason why health insurance is so expensive. People lobby state legislators to force insurance companies to cover their pet condition and a whole host of perpetual treatments.
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