Autistic girl crawls into bathroom stall; mom says, 'there's nothing I can do.'
When this woman is freaked out by a 6 year old, she asks Reddit:
'AITA for getting mad at a parent whose daughter crawled into the bathroom stall?'
I (27f) was recently at a mall with friends and I had to use the restroom. I was minding my own business when I saw a small hand grab the bottom of the door and started pushing it. I thought 'wtf' but I said 'someone's in here.'
The person, with her hand still on the bottom of the door, started shaking it because the door was locked. I said 'someone's in here' louder. I heard someone call out a name and they stopped. Then I noticed that a little girl started crawling into the stall while I was thinking 'what in the actual he$l???' The girl looked about 6 or 7 ish and she was smiling at me???
I immediately got up, pulled my pants up, then flushed so I can get out. I told the girl to get out and asked where her mom is. She pointed to a stall next to mine when a woman came out. I looked at her and said 'do you know what your daughter just did? She crawled into the stall while I was in there. Can you keep a better eye on her?'
Her mom made a face and told me 'so what? She has autism. You wouldn't know what it's like.' Which made me mad so I responded with 'yeah and? That's more of a reason to be a better parent and keep her from doing something like this. I'm not mad at the kid. I'm mad at you for acting defensive. For the love of God, don't use her disability as an excuse to be defensive about it.' Then I turned around and left after I washed my hands.
My friends asked what took me so long and I explained what just happened. They all think I'm an asshole for not having more empathy for the mom..AITA?
Let's find out.
suchawareness writes:
NTA. When did being a kid or having autism give anyone the right to violate another human beings privacy or personal space. Rather than apologizes for not watching her child she tried to use autism as an excuse. If she knows her child does not know how to behave in a bathroom and will possibly violates someone else privacy while using the restroom than she should have brought her child into the stall with her to keep a better eye onher.
someoneinspireme writes:
NTA. The mother should have had hold of her child. I'm also autistic, my mother literally kept me on a leash until I was able to not do things like that. (no not a leash around my neck before people start yelling child abuse, one of those ones that clips to a belt or a bracelet to help you keep track of your toddlers at airports etc.)The kid wasn't having a meltdown, she was crawling on the floor in a bathroom.
motherofpeacocks writes:
NTA, good for you for hitting all the points. Parents shouldn't weaponize a child's disability, that is so wrong, and you're absolutely right that a child with a disability requires more attention, not less.