Autism at the Movie Theatrespecial needs. You could ask your local autism society. It's strange that the usher asked you to leave - my NT four years old can't sit still and quiet for two hour movie and noone seems to expects them to. My asd son does mosly okay in movies, especially as long as he has snacks. I can think of two times we had to leave because he felt that the movie was too overwhelming - they were little kids movies but what is not scary to others is sometimes scary to him. We take the boys to matinees and we always sit in the back row. Luckily all of our theaters are stadium seating so everyone can see from every row. Being in the back is great because he can stand up if he wants to and not block the view of anyone else. Our 1st movie experience at age 4 was a disaster but since then we haven't had any issues. IMHO, little kids don't belong at prime time until they can behave at the matinee without incident. I look at the matinee as the stepping stone to prime time! also, it sounds like the usher was just being an self-important ass. I've seen kids screaming at the theater and not kicked out. Go Matinee hours it's cheaper also. We've been to a few movies but it has been hit or miss for us. Fortunately during the summer they offer free G/PG movies at the theater which is an excellent opportunity to work on the skill. It's pretty low key then with all the moms and kids and rambunctious toddlers.I do think it was wrong for the usher to ask you to leave especially considering I've heard people having cell phone conversations during a movie or moms who keep trying to quiet a baby who is crying really loudly for several minutes and really should be taken out. Here's a sample social story, just click on "more samples": http://www.linguisystems.com/itemdetail.php?id=323 Don't let one bad experience spoil it after a long series of successes! If it's not important to seat him in his stroller, then maybe try to sit in the back row next time. If he loves to sit up close, maybe tell him he can only sit there if he stays quiet and sits still (if he has enough impulse control and sense of consequences to "get it"). Was this a children's movie? If so, it seems weird that the usher was so strict. Was he bored or restless when he started noticing the ceiling lights? If so, you might bring a quiet fidget toy for next time. We rarely go to the movies because our oldest son gets bothered by the loudness or overstimulated or hung up on a plot element that bothers him. We take him out, if need be, but it can be a stressful experience, so we only prioritize it when the movie is extra appealing and convenient, which it rarely is in our small town. Better luck next time! I work with a 17 year old (soon to be 18) with Mild/Mod-Autism. He'd never been to a movie in his life, until a few months ago when we spent a day together (his mum was out of town and had asked me to stay with him, as she's not comfortable with him being alone for a full day.) Well, I had sprained my ankle a couple of days before, so I decided we needed to do something calm and time consuming...So we went to see a movie. He did an EXCELLENT job while there (Sunday Matinee), however, I think that if we had gone during prime time he wouldn't have made it through the movie...I think that it's something your son can learn to do, but it may take some time. You might want to start out with less crowded movies, and look into makign a social story, or taking frequent breaks with him to ensure that he dosen't disturb any other movie goers. I hope this was somewhat helpful! Just a question. My son loves movies. The bigger the better. He loves the movie theatre. A month ago we made the mistake of taking him during primetime. He did really well for the majority of the movie. He was honestly less distracting than those who were talking on their cell phones or constantly leaving to go to the bathroom. Towards the end he noticed the lights on the ceiling and kind of started talking to them. I was telling him to be quiet literally for the 1st time during movie when the usher happened to walk in and he asked me to take him out. We were in the first row because it allowed us to have him in his stroller in the disabled seating area. I would have taken him out if he was disruptive but figured it would be more disruptive at that point to leave than to stay. Anyway, obviously we will still with more kid friendly daytime movies for now but what about when he is older. I wonder, will he never be able to go to a movie because he might have a few restless minutes. I promise I am not playing down his behavior, he really was good. We did complain to the manager and received free admissions to cover the cost but that really isn't the point. Yep...learned my lesson. This was not his first movie but I think it was the first one primetime. There were other kids in the theatre but I think you are right about sticking with strickly kids movies during the day for now. I can see both sides of the situation. In this case looking back I probably should have not taken him. I was looking forward to when he was older and wondering what it would be like. Anyway, the usher definitely overreacted but I guess in his defense he is in and out quickly and didn't realize that this was the first time my son had made any noise. He just happened to walk in at a bad time. The funny thing is he did much better than my NT daughter did at the same age. SOOO lesson learned. I did tell my husband he is signed up for the free summer movie detail this summer since they are on Tuesdays which is his day off! |
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