Toowoomba mum of boy with autism slams Grand Central Shopping Centre after security guard kicks family out

The mum of a boy with autism says she was left humiliated at a Queensland shopping centre, after she was asked to leave because her five-year-old did not have shoes on.

Evie O'Hara says she and her son with autism were told to leave Grand Central Shopping Centre by a security guard due to her son's lack of shoes.

The mother of a five-year-old boy with autism says she was left humiliated after they were asked to leave Grand Central Shopping Centre because of his bare feet.

Toowoomba’s Evie O’Hara, whose son Bohdi has documented sensory issues that affect his ability to wear shoes, was left “in tears” on Monday morning after a security guard confronted the family and told them to get out of the centre due to his lack of shoes.

Toowoomba woman Evie O'Hara says her son was discriminated against by Grand Central staff.

She is calling on the centre to re-evaluate its training for security staff, particularly around people with invisible disabilities.

Ms O’Hara said the pair were in Grand Central buying a birthday present for Bohdi when he got out of the pram to skip and jog towards retailer EB Games.

The mother-of-two stressed Bohdi was not yelling or acting in an anti-social way when the male security guard appeared and immediately told them to leave.

“My grandma gave him some money and he was super excited to go and buy something,” Ms O’Hara said.

“He has huge sensory issues where he doesn’t wear shoes (and) it’s never been an issue for any shopping centre (or Grand Central).

“(The security guard’s) first words were ‘he needs to leave’ — he kept saying he needed to leave, that he can’t be in the centre with no shoes on.

“I explained that it’s a disability, it’s not a lifestyle choice, (and) the security guard still wasn’t happy.”

Exterior staircase of Grand Central shopping centre as seen from Mylne St residential tower block, Thursday, March 23, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Ms O’Hara then tried to get Bohdi back in the pram, but she said the security guard still insisted they leave.

She said the incident, witnessed by several people, left her and Bohdi feeling embarrassed and humiliated.

“(The guard) was very intimidating, I’m a small person and he was standing over me,” Ms O’Hara said.

“I asked him, ‘are you kicking us out’, and he said ‘no just (Bohdi)’.

“I was in tears, I felt really embarrassed — I explained it was discrimination against my disabled child.

“We weren’t crashing into anything, we weren’t being loud — we were just going to get him a birthday present (and) now his confidence has gone.”

Ms O’Hara said she was unlikely to return to Grand Central again, urging centre management to rethink its policies and training around people with disabilities.

“For future reference, maybe they could do more training about hidden disabilities,” she said.

“It was extremely embarrassing, it could’ve been handled. It left me speechless.”

A spokeswoman for the centre said Grand Central was investigating the incident.

“Our aim is to ensure all customers feel welcomed at Grand Central and we continue to consider all options to achieve this objective,” the statement said.