Autistic boy kicked out of restaurant for stimming divides internet

“I don’t let my kids run out of control, but he was making sounds that were apparently bothering the other tables,” the devastated mum revealed, but not everyone was on her side. 

Single mum T does her best when she takes her kids on outings, and they’re mostly well-behaved.

So when she decided to take her kids out for dinner the other night, she was confident that it would be a nice treat for everyone, and break from cooking for her.

“I took myself and my kids out to [a restaurant in Texas] because I didn’t feel like cooking,” she explained in a viral TikTok under the handle @city.belleee.

“I wanted oysters and I just wanted to chill.”

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this. 

Everyone ordered their food, and things were going fine until T’s autistic son Carter started stimming by vocalising loudly.

To the outside world it seemed like Carter was screaming, but for autistic people, vocalisations can sometimes be an expression of feelings, or have a calming effect for them.

“I guess it was too much for people that were sitting in there,” T said. She tried to calm Carter down, but he continued to make vocalisations.

She said people at the tables nearby turned around and stared every time Carter made a sound.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

“This table, they all look back,” she said. “It had to be eight of them. They all look back with this face.”

A mum at the same table covered her ears against the noise.

T began to feel like she wanted to sink into the floor with embarrassment, and it only got worse when the manager came over.

“The noise,” he said to her. When T explained that Carter is autistic, the manager didn’t seem to care.

“He just did not give a f***.”

The mum was devastated over her treatment in the restaurant. Photo: TikTok

T decided to leave and was in tears telling the story on TikTok.

Although it seems like a straight case of discrimination based on a disability, followers on TikTok were divided.

“This broke my heart. Your boys are beautiful,” one supportive follower said.

“A parent should never feel this way,” said another. “I know how much some parents don’t come out in public places because of this reason and it breaks my heart.”

“People have no compassion,” said a third.

Introducing our new podcast: Mum Club! Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

But not everyone thought it was straightforward.

“If I saw and heard a kid screaming at the top of their lungs or crying loudly the entire time, I would definitely be overstimulated and would look over to where the noise was coming from,” one person said.

“I’m sorry you went through that but at the same time if someone is making a loud noise, I’m going to look back naturally,” said another.

“This is quite the dilemma because I feel you wholeheartedly, but those people want to enjoy their meals in peace.”

Originally published as Autistic boy kicked out of restaurant for stimming divides internet