Chicago mom allegedly asked to leave movie theater because her special needs son was laughing
(CBS Chicago/KMOV.com)– A Chicago woman details her experience after being asked to leave the movies with her special needs son due to a noise complaint.
In a Facebook post, Jennifer Daly says she went to an AMC Theatre with her two boys to see Disney’s Dumbo Friday night. One of her sons, Jonathan, has a rare form of dwarfism and cervical spine issues, according to CBS Chicago.
“It is not easy with Jonathan’s oxygen and feeding bag and just carrying him to be able to go and do this,” she wrote.
Daly said her sons were excited about the movie and wanted to see it for the past few weeks but didn’t expect her night to end as it did.
During the flick, Johnathon began giggling in excitement as Dumbo began to suck in feathers to fly. According to the mother of two, a manager walked up to her row 10 minutes later and said there was a noise complaint.
She was told that she immediately had to pack up and leave.
“I was mortified.. never in my life have I ever been kicked out of anything especially if I had done nothing wrong. I was at the top back of the theater to try and stay out of anyone’s way so that is a major haul to get to,” said Daly. “I was not moving fast enough because she wanted to expedite me because I had to stand up and pack Jonathan up and get all his equipment.”
She said it took her two trips to get all of her belongings.
After leaving the movie theater, Daly said the employee offered several other accommodations such as free refills on drinks and food, a toy from the display case, and movie vouchers.
The horrible ordeal left Daly questioning if she would ever return back to the movie theater.
“I don’t know if I will ever feel like I could go to the movies again because I won’t be able to enjoy myself if my son laughs that I might get kicked out,” said Daly. “He has seen so many movies with me and we have never had a problem.”
CBS Chicago reached out to AMC for a response. A representative said:
“Disruptive behavior is not permitted during a movie. An AMC manager received multiple reports from guests about an ongoing disruption. The manager offered several options, including relocating the family and offering a private show. The guest received a refund, but declined all other options offered.