Monday, June 27, 2016

My Son Has Autism, But I Expect Him To Behave In A Movie Theater

I came across a post on Facebook the other day about a boy with autism who was removed from seeing Finding Dory. It seems he was rolling around on the floor.

Some people are outraged that he was removed. I wasn't there, so I don't know the extent of his disruptiveness. If he was just rolling around on the ground as stated in the article, it wouldn't have bugged me, personally. But I have ranted about noisy kids in movie theaters before.

I have two kids. And we see many kid movies. When my children were tiny and they got noisy, we left the theater. Was it a pain? Yes. But if they continued to be loud, I wasn't going to ruin other people's movie experience. This mainly happened with my daughter, who would not want to sit still or not understand the concept of an indoor voice. Taking her out of the theater helped though: she learned that she could not behave in that manner.

Look, going to see a movie is not cheap. We pay $8 a pop. So when people say, "Oh, if you go to a kid movie, expect to hear kid noises" I'm not amused. I didn't fork over $32 to hear your little one shriek and run up and down the aisles constantly.

My son has autism and has been disruptive at times. But never in a theater. This is because he was about six before he went to see his first movie. I was worried that he wouldn't sit still. I was panicked that he would shout. So I waited until I felt he was mature enough. However, he did act out in other places--remember how I wrote how it could have been MY son that fell into the gorilla enclosure?




No child is perfect. No kid is ever going to be 100% silent and I'm certainly not saying I expect to not hear a peep in a movie theater--but I do expect basic parenting. If your son or daughter is unable to sit still or speak quietly, it might be best to remove them. Understand that there are families who might have scrimped and saved to be able to see the movie, and they deserve to be able to enjoy themselves.


Parenting isn't easy and people are accepting--but sometimes, the polite thing to do is to take a disruptive child out of a situation. Perhaps look into special needs screenings of the movie. Many theaters have this option now. Then in a few years, try a regular screening and see how your little one does.




Sometimes they just need a few years to mature.

14 comments:

  1. I applaud your common sense, parenting skills. I wish adults would also behave better at the movies...! ;)

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    1. I was thinking the same thing!!! Honestly, I HATE going to the movies because 99% of the time it isn't enjoyable because the adults are being rude and disruptive. So, thank you!! I appreciate you teaching your children the proper way to act in a theater.

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  2. Ugh, I hate bad behavior at the movies. Like Julie said, the adults are just as bad as any of the kids! Ringing phones, standing up during a movie, wanting to pass by you a MILLION times to go to the snack bar, talking, yelling at their friends across the theater. It brings out the ratchet in people for real!

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  3. I love the cinema, it's one of my favourite pastimes. I have an unlimited card so I can go when I want.

    I find its the adults who can't behave, my nephew who has autism usually puts them to shame and is really well behaved in the cinema.

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  4. I agree with you. I have also made sure my kids know how to behave in a theater. I get so annoyed when parents let their kids scream instead of taking them out. Maybe they should pay me back for my tickets next time. And yes, adults are just as rude. When I saw The Fault in Our Stars, this couple next to me would not stop talking! It's called Starbucks. Take your conversation over there!

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  5. I agree that I expect my kids to behave in a movie theater, even in a kid movie and yes, even though my son has autism. I do, occasionally have to remind him to whisper, because he likes to point things out during the movie. However, we make it a point to go during slower times, because we'll, I don't like people and high prices. We also sit in the very back row because he likes to see the "WHOLE" theater.

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  6. I agree that I expect my kids to behave in a movie theater, even in a kid movie and yes, even though my son has autism. I do, occasionally have to remind him to whisper, because he likes to point things out during the movie. However, we make it a point to go during slower times, because we'll, I don't like people and high prices. We also sit in the very back row because he likes to see the "WHOLE" theater.

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  7. So true.
    And did I ever tell you about when the local theater switched the movie times of the baby movie and the non baby movie, and I took my loud baby to a non-baby movie?
    We all had fun getting refunds that day.

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  8. My head spun reading the fb comments on that article. So much hate (on both sides, actually). I do expect a little more noise at a kids' movie- kids laughing, calling out when they see a favorite character, that sort of thing. But as far as disruptive behavior- I think it's okay to give someone a chance- see if the parent can get it to stop and have it not happen again instead of immediately leaving over one thing (unless it's something really drastic, like a scream that goes on and on).
    But after that chance, then yeah, they need to leave.
    My son with autism was actually probably my best movie goer of the three at an earlier age than his brothers just because he'd get entranced by them.
    Movies ARE expensive. It's 8-9 for the kids and 9-12 for adults here (unless you go during the bargain hour each day), but yes, it really adds up and we want to be able to watch the movie.

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  9. I went to see Finding Dory and I knew that since I was at a kid's movie that I would hear noise, but there was one kid that cried the ENTIRE movie and the guardian never took the kid out. I was seriously so annoyed by it.

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  10. PREACH! I'm pretty easy going when we attend kid events. However, when I pay my money I want to enjoy myself. That doesn't include hearing your child scream and jump around.

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  11. I know both theaters in our area offer sensory friendly screenings so I think that's a good option for many. I also agree that people need to use common sense. I took my son to the movies starting when he was around 3 and he couldn't sit still so I took him out for about 15 minutes and went back in. Later I tried again when he was older and - wah lah! - that did it.

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  12. I agree with you! When my children were younger and if they started to get loud or cry (because I did take babies) my husband and I would take them to the lobby. It's not cheap to see a movie AT ALL.
    Adults can be just as loud too, they should excuse themselves as well. Who comes to the movies to talk?

    I haven't heard or read the story, but if the child wasn't bothering anybody does it matter? There was a little girl rolling on the floor when we went to see Finding Dory and nobody cared. She was just having fun quietly by herself. No harm.
    Thanks for sharing with us at #MMBH!
    xo
    www.mrsaokaworkinprogress.com

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Thanks for the comment!

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