Honestly, I don’t usually go on rants like this, especially in public spaces such as the Internet. The hand we’ve been dealt with E’s autism is the hand we’ve been given and I don’t see much point in complaining about it or raising my fist at God. In some ways, it’s been a more beautiful journey in parenthood than I could have ever imagined.
But then again, this is MY blog and in many ways, my journal, and sometimes a mama just has to get something off her chest and I am IN A MOOD today, so here we go.
So, I’ve had E registered for gymnastics at our local studio since March. She took classes all throughout the spring and summer and is now starting the fall session. It’s a small studio, although I’m sure there are many kids who attend (I’m not trying to diminish the fact that there are probably lots of faces and names to remember). The thing is, I’m really not one to expect special treatment for E just because she has special needs. But at the same time, if you’re a program that is geared towards kids and you openly accept kids who are “different” then to a certain extent, maybe I do expect an extra degree of care if my daughter is one of those said “different” kids.
I called this studio before enrolling E and talked to the office manager about whether or not she thought an autistic, relatively high-functioning, but still socially & verbally slow girl would be a good fit. Immediately, she reassured me and told me she actually used to be an ABA therapist (ABA therapy is something most kids on the spectrum receive at some point) and that the studio has had special needs children attend before. Knowing that someone in the office had real experience with autistic kids assuaged my concerns, so I happily signed my daughter up.
Back in the spring, when we first started attending, I remember finding it odd that the office hadn’t told E’s gymnastics teacher that E was on the autism spectrum. I had to do that myself – meet with the teacher after each practice and ask how it went/explain where E’s weaknesses were/how to communicate best with her. I don’t mind advocating for my kid in this way but on the teacher’s behalf, wouldn’t it have been nice for her to at least know beforehand that one of the students was special needs?
Fast forward a few months and I really ended up liking the teacher for E’s gymnastics level. She seemed to learn E’s ins & outs pretty quickly and I appreciated that, even if there were definitely areas that could use improvement. E ended up having her for the summer session as well so that was a nice bit of continuity for us.
Then the fall session started last week and I asked the office (same office manager from before) about who E’s new teacher would be. I know that it’s a busy studio and there are lots of kids so I prefaced it with “My daughter is E___ K___, she has autism” before explaining why I was asking about the new teacher. First of all, I want to reiterate that THIS IS THE SAME PERSON I spoke to only a few months ago when I was inquiring about registering E. She had no idea who I was or who E was. I had to spell out her name, letter for letter in order to get the exact class/teacher information I was looking for. It was a little irksome but I always err on the side of caution and wanted to give this person the benefit of the doubt. Yes, I mean, HOW MANY Asian girls with autism could this one little studio have? But, to be fair, the conversation I had with her was 5 months ago so it’s possible she had forgotten.
I was told that her teacher for the 1st day (last week) would be X but going forward starting from the next week it would be Y because X was actually transitioning out from teaching. So, last week I met X and introduced my daughter, let X know that she has autism but that E is used to the routine of gymnastics class so I don’t foresee there being any issues and that I just wanted X to be aware that she was special needs. Today, for gymnastics, I went to the office again to double check that Y would now be the new teacher for the class so that I could have the same quick conversation with the new teacher about who E is. THIS OFFICE MANAGER AGAIN HAD NO IDEA WHO I WAS. NO idea who the autistic client in their tiny gymnastics studio might be. When I gave her the name, NO jogging of her memory, I again had to spell out E’s name letter for letter for her so she could pull up the correct class roster and give me the teacher’s information. Like, seriously, WHAT THE HECK MAN! Forgetting a special needs child from earlier in the spring is one thing but forgetting her from LAST WEEK? And this is the office manager that sits at the desk in the lobby and greets all the kids who come in; I’ve seen her personally say hi to kids & parents by name so I know it’s not that she doesn’t know anyone who attends the studio. I’m not a new member either, and you’d think that especially with the autism connection -with her being a retired ABA therapist- it would stick in her memory. I swear, if this office manager doesn’t not remember E the next time I have to interact with her, I am going to be really heartbroken. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, REMEMBER HER NAME!
Rant done.
Esther Chang says
BEYOND rude and really poor business skills. i cannot believe they would be so careless. if that doesn’t solve it, you could always write a poor review on yelp and other review sites so that people are aware. just plain rude.
sophia says
Aw esther! I love how supportive you are of E <3 hahahha you're like her other mama bear. i thought about doing a yelp review but it's such a small community, im scared they'd know it's me …. LOL! i'm too chicken so i'm just gonna complain on my blog hahahahahahaha