Yet another Mother of the Year

[rerant]

I was told this story by a coworker during my morning smoke before my shift.

Here's the jist of what she told me.

Store is not quite open yet, but this woman and her two kids (each about 10) are very obviously anxiously waiting to get in to return something.
Woman finally starts her return (something about the refund of a delivery charge for something that was being sent out today - this part confused even me, but is besides the point) and lets her children, who the lovely and awesome no-bullshit returns coworker now learns are both autistic, run freely through the store.

Not only did they run freely, they sat on the couches at returns, which we have for waiting customers where they can watch children's movies with the sound of and the captions on, and SCREEEEEEAAAAAMMMMEEEEDD, screamed at the returns coworker, ran screaming through the store to the bistro area, bought a beverage and threatened the coworkers there that they would throw it at them, and pitched a fit over anything and everything while mommy dearest ignored them completely.

Here's what the returns coworker said about the situation:
"Even though those kids were autistic I could tell they weren't that bad. They would look me in the eye and pay attention to me while I talked, so it was obvious that they either only acted this way in public, or their mother was making them do it since she knew what she came in to refund was going to cause a problem.
I bet you anything she brought them just to distract us enough that we would give her what she wanted to get them out of the store."

Unlucky for her the returns coworker doesn't buy into that kind of thing, and even though one of the kids was slamming her keyboard to the point where she had to pull it from his hands and keep it away from him, she followed procedure to the letter.

Oh, and what did our new LP who I strongly dislike for the fact that they don't back us up like they should and they don't get things done like they should do?
As I was told, nothing. Not a damn thing.

Our old LP people (one who we mentioned specifically during this conversation) would have cracked down on that woman and her kids and either told them to leave or forced some order into the situation.
I miss her.

Only one of our LP members is good, and sadly I'm seeing him around less and less these days.

So in summation, this woman was a demon harpee from the seventh layer of hell, and our new LP team (minus the one awesome one) defies physics by simultaneously sucking and blowing.

[PepperElf]

sadly... I'm actually not surprised.

I've already seen parents who aren't above taking advantage of their children's disablities for personal gain.

(probably splitting hairs but... eh, reminds me of the time my family saw a minivan pull up into a handicap spot. now technically they were legally allowed to use the slot cos they had the plates...but the child in the wheelchair wasn't getting out.

so... technically they could have parked anywhere else, could have left the spot open for say...someone who was disabled and actually getting out of the car & going to the store, but... yeah. they were too use to taking advantage of the plates)

[Phone Jockey]

our new LP team (minus the one awesome one) defies physics by simultaneously sucking and blowing.

AHAHAHAHA!!! That is the funniest thing I've heard lately & it's quite clever!

[wagegoth]

I'll bet she was lying about the autistic part, as autistics usually have trouble maintaining eye contact. I agree, she brought the children in to make a scene to try to get you to rush her through and give her what she wanted.

A lot of people are pushing to get their children who have learning disabilities labeled autistic, as it has become more acceptable to be autistic than "retarded," or to admit that you drank while you were pregnant and your child probably actually has fetal alcohol syndrome.

[DarthRetard]

AHAHAHAHA!!! That is the funniest thing I've heard lately & it's quite clever!

It's actually a bart simpson phrase if im not mistaken.

[blas]

That's so sad. Lots of parents of children with disabilities would be angered to read/hear about stuff like this.

[Gravekeeper]

It's actually a bart simpson phrase if im not mistaken.

Yep, it is.

[Seshat]

I'll bet she was lying about the autistic part, as autistics usually have trouble maintaining eye contact.

It depends on the level of autism. I have a friend with one autistic and one child whose exact label I forget, but she's basically a nine-year-old with a six-year-old's intellectual and emotional development.

The autistic child will maintain enough eye contact to make many people comfortable, though probably not enough to be neurotypical in that regard. He's high-functioning autistic, though - right on the border between autist and asperger's.

[Wembley]

That's so sad. Lots of parents of children with disabilities would be angered to read/hear about stuff like this.

While not a parent, I do agree. In fact, when I used to work with special-needs kids, I always felt a little guilty about using the accessible parking spot, since really, I'm the one pushing the chair mostly...

FUNNY STORY TIME:

One of my friends in middle school and high school was disabled, he used a power chair to get around, could not speak etc. Brain-wise, he was normal, just had some limitations due to being hit by a car in 3rd grade.

Anyway, one Saturday afternoon, we decided to go to the mall, as young teenagers will do. The plan was to have his dad drive us to the mall, and after getting the stuff he needed to get, his dad would leave and pick us up a few hours later.

Well, we got to the mall, and of course, since the van had the accessible parking tags, we were looking for a place to park near the door. Of all the spots, there was only *one* blue-tagged spot left, and just as we were going to pull in, a big old Lincoln pulls in ahead of us. Apparently, the car must have belonged to a relative that needed the tags, because 4 perfectly able-bodied teenagers climb out of the car and start walking towards the mall.

My friend's dad rolls down the window. "Hey! Any of you boys need that space?"

"Ummmmm...... no, not really"

"Then do you mind moving your car so I CAN GET MY SON IN A WHEELCHAIR OUT!"

Of course, by this time, I am trying to climb *under* the seat, saying "don't make a scene, we can walk a little farther" and my friend is laughing his head off, waving his hands around in the air, and generally thrilled by the whole experience.

Of course, even then I kinda felt a little guilty, since the wheelchair was electric, and it wasnt any more effort really to park a little farther from the door. Even once I got my license and started driving him (and the other special-needs kids I worked with), I tried to avoid using the reserved parking since in my opinion, I was the one pushing the chair (or electric) and, hey, I can always use the exercise. (one person I worked with found that hilarious in fact)

Strangely enough, in all the work I have done "with the public", I never had any SCs when I was doing respite work with special needs kids....

-Wembley (now happily out of retail!)

[Seshat]

Of course, even then I kinda felt a little guilty, since the wheelchair was electric, and it wasnt any more effort really to park a little farther from the door. Even once I got my license and started driving him (and the other special-needs kids I worked with), I tried to avoid using the reserved parking since in my opinion, I was the one pushing the chair (or electric) and, hey, I can always use the exercise. (one person I worked with found that hilarious in fact)

Actually, I'm planning on getting the tags - and so is my blind friend - because of an incident when we were almost hit in a parking lot.

I was being pushed by our able-bodied friend, the blind friend was hanging onto our able-bodied friend's elbow. The path we were taking was clear, then this car suddenly decided, for no apparent reason, to reverse into us.

Now, three fully able-bodied people would have been able to dart out of the way. But us? Nope.

The able-bodied friend tried to get between the car and me, while yelling and getting ready to thump the car hard. I had literally nowhere to go, because the car was reversing into the place she'd been trying to push me. I yelled and threw my arm up high to make myself more visible. Our blind friend felt the heat from the exhaust and figured out what was happening, grabbed the wheelchair and tried to pull me into the best guess she had of a safe place. Because she can't see, though, she actually put herself into the road-space. No cars were coming, but they could have been.

The car did stop - the yells and the movement apparently told the driver that we weren't an empty bit of road after all.

So - we're not going to risk it anymore. Yes, it's sucky to take up parking space that might be needed by other disabled people. But it looks like the choice is to take a disability space, or risk being hit because of sucky drivers who aren't paying enough attention to see wheelchairs and blind people.

If we're ever taking the last disabled spot, though, we're going to tell mall management. Hopefully they'll be willing to add more spaces if the need occurs often enough.

[Sharsarannon]

I'll bet she was lying about the autistic part, as autistics usually have trouble maintaining eye contact. I agree, she brought the children in to make a scene to try to get you to rush her through and give her what she wanted.

A lot of people are pushing to get their children who have learning disabilities labeled autistic, as it has become more acceptable to be autistic than "retarded," or to admit that you drank while you were pregnant and your child probably actually has fetal alcohol syndrome.

What a horrible woman. She may very well have been lying, and even autistic children can learn with time when they should be quieter. I did. ....Eventually. eheh.

It may be more socially accepted to be autistic than retarded, but no good doctor has much trouble seeing difference between the two, as long as they look at enough angles, including possible causes of the problems. Autistics often have very marked behaviors and the diagnosis is usually rather thorough.

The biggest difference, I think, is that many Autistics will show a sort of mental compensation for their troubles and have a few abilities that approach genius or even savant levels. People who are "retarded" are developmentally disabled, usually in such a way that their mind moves slower, and the developmental slowness frequently affects large areas of the brain, ie motor skill, spatial skills, logic, social skills, all at once.

Mind you, I'm no expert, I'm just a hobbyist with a vested personal interest.