DO NOT BRING YOUR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN OR ANYONE SPECIAL NEEDS YOU CARE ABOUT TO THIS PLACE! I brought my child to get his eyes checked because of some issues he has been having for a few months. He is on the spectrum, does not have behaviors, and is well behaved. I usually share with doctor’s offices, dentist, or whoever will be be caring for him prior to the visit that he is on the spectrum so that they understand his personality and could be patient with him. When you involve him in the care, it makes him more comfortable and he will cooperate more instead of becoming timid. I called one of the receptionist about this prior to the visit and she mentioned that she will discuss this more when we arrive. When my son and I arrived to the visit, I was asked a lot of questions that asked if he’s “violent,” and “aggressive,” because they had a special needs person who “punched someone in the face during their visit l.” I explained that when dealing with my son, explain what will be done during the visit. Do not just walk up to him and start touching him and doing an exam. Talk to him when each step is being done. She then asked me again if “he’s violent.” After a line of questions that almost sounded repeated, I began to get offended. She even made the remark that “we sometimes DON’T WORK WITH SPECIAL NEEDS PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY COULD BE VIOLENT AT TIMES,” due to an issue they had with someone else. There is obviously some training and education that should be given to some of the employees about working with different kinds of people. NOT ALL SPECIAL NEEDS PEOPLE BEHAVE THE SAME WAY! NOT ALL SPECIAL NEEDS PEOPLE FALL UNDER THE SAME UMBRELLA! They are human beings just like you and should be treated with the same DIGNITY and RESPECT that a neurotypical person would be treated with as well! I even had to explain to her that just like if I were at a doctor’s appointment and I would like them to explain who they are and what they would be doing before they touch me, the rule stills apply to special needs people as well. I will add I am not discrediting them wanting to protect their staff, however, I am appalled at the level of ignorance that this receptionist displayed and I am hoping no one in this same situation would have to go through this same lack of compassion that my son and I had to endure! I have been in the healthcare field for over 20 years and have worked with many different patients even with cognitive disabilities. THEY DO NOT ALL ACT THE SAME! If you are not educated or trained about that, you would not know that! I will never come back here!
