Keilor mum Maria Kerr traumatised after alleged treatment of autistic son

A Melbourne mum was traumatised by the treatment of her autistic son by security and staff at a local pool after they failed to accommodate her boy’s special needs in the sweltering heat.

Maria Kerr and her 8-year-old son Elliott were "traumatised" following a visit to Moonee Valley Council's MOVE Keilor East Leisure Centre after she claims they received poor treatment by security and staff. Picture: Supplied

A Melbourne mother of a boy with autism claims she was left “traumatised” and “humiliated” after security and staff at her local pool refused to let them skip the long queue as her son could not process the delay in the sweltering heat and began to lash out.

Maria Kerr says she hopes no one else will endure what her family did after a trip to beat the heat over the weekend ended in a demoralising experience as she explained the behaviour of her autistic son to complete strangers as she broke down on the footpath.

Ms Kerr went to the Keilor East Leisure Centre on Sunday afternoon with Julian, 8 as the family does most weeks but due to the extreme heat, they arrived to find a long queue outside.

Maria Kerr and her Julian, 8, were "traumatised" following a visit to the Keilor East Leisure Centre.

Ms Kerr approached a security guard and explained her son was non-verbal, did not understand waiting, and anticipated he would become extremely upset.

She asked if there were any allowances for patrons with special needs but the guard “abruptly” told her to go to the back of the line, she claimed.

According to Ms Kerr, after five minutes Julian began to scream and hit her as he could not comprehend the delay but the security guard again refused.

She then called the centre to see if management could intervene and claimed she was told there was no manager on shift and there were no allowances for visitors with special needs, before she alleges she was hung up on.

Maria supports Julian when in the pool and they have attended a number of leisure centres across Melbourne.

Maria claims Julian was eventually let through after repeated calls from people in the queue for common sense to prevail.

The centre is owned by Moonee Valley City Council but leased and operated by Belgravia Health and Leisure Group, who said providing a safe environment was their top priority and they were constantly reviewing their facilities to make them as inclusive as possible.

“It was humiliating and degrading, to stand there and announce to complete strangers that my boy is autistic and explain his diagnosis was awful,” Ms Kerr said.

“Because he has an invisible disability we don’t seek out special treatment like car spaces because you know people judge, everyday is a struggle but it felt like the security guard was on a power trip.

“The thought of returning to that centre makes me sick, they put me through immense humiliation for no reason, I am absolutely disgusted by how my son and I were treated.”

There was a queue outside the leisure centre on Sunday as locals battled the sweltering heat.

Ms Kerr, who is a councillor at the neighbouring Brimbank Council, said she was disappointed by the response from both the council and Belgravia and believed a contingency plan was needed for those with special needs.

A Moonee Valley spokeswoman said the council would work with the contractor to investigate the matter.

“We always want patrons of our facilities to have a positive experience including residents with special needs,” the spokeswoman said.

“While the Centre is proudly owned by the council, it is managed by third-party contractor Belgravia Health and Leisure Group who have been asked to contact the patron.”

Maria Kerr serves as a Brimbank City councillor in the neighbouring region.

A Belgravia spokeswoman confirmed the facility had reached capacity and adopted a one-in one-out system.

“Signage indicating the venue was at capacity was clearly communicated upon entry ... the security guard explained the situation to Ms Kerr who waited with her son and then entered the venue shortly after,” the spokeswoman said.

“Upon leaving however, unfortunately Ms Kerr became agitated whereby again security attempted to explain the reasoning for the wait.

She said Belgravia Leisure was committed to providing venues free of all forms of discrimination and it would apologise to Ms Kerr for “any confusion or distress” caused.

She confirmed staff undertake training to support patrons with a disability and noted the facility provided ‘Changing Places’, among other accessibility services.

A Moonee Valley representative said the installation of an MLAK lock was not supported by their inclusion officer.

However, The Herald Sun saw emails from Ms Kerr to the council from May 2023 which outlined a number of shortcomings.

Ms Kerr highlighted the ‘Changing Places’ were kept unlocked, while at other centres the rooms were only accessed by a key obtained through the NDIS.

Ms Kerr said it resulted in “distressing” situations where visitors who did not rely on the facilities unknowingly used them and special needs patrons were stranded.

A Moonee Valley representative told Ms Kerr that while it considered installing a Master Locksmiths Access Key (MLAK) lock, it was not supported by the Access and Inclusion Officer.

Instead, the council sought to improve the “overall accessibility” of the toilets and change spaces, which included replacing manual doors with automatic doors.