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Hi, I would like to share my story with you. Yesterday on June 25,2008, I took my daughter to her first creative dance class at peterson

park in chicago, She was so excited and so was I. We walked in waited a couple minutes, met the  Instructor of the class, She seemed ok.

then we all went upstairs parents and students. My daughter has Apraxia and signs of Autism, And she is a runner (bascilly she runs away).
So they told all the girls to sit down, delia sat then she wanted to explore the place, no one even cared that my daughter wanted to play on

the balance beam and all the other apparatus's, she could've got hurt and they didn't care they kept rolling there eyes at her, my sister

and I were trying to get her to go by the instructor, she went back did a couple things with the class and then ran again, when delia came

back by the class, the instructor was passing out coloring pictures of a little girl in a ballet outfit and totally ignored my daughter and she

didn't recieve one. At this point i was not in a good place. So then they did a couple other things, Then it was hula hoop time, So the

instructor was passing all the hula hoops out to all the girls, When my daughter went up to ask for one (note: my daughter has Apraxia of

speech) The instructor acted like she didn't know what my daughter wanted, she kept saying to her what, what, what over and over it was

very disturbing. Then she pointed to the hula hoops like go get your own, This really hurts me that really wasn't right , Why couldn't she just

pass her one so my daughter don't have to feel like ***. So my daughter got a hula hoop my sister was helping her cause the instructor

and "helpers" were not helping her,  Then my daughters hula hoop hit one of the "helpers"  leg with it on accident and she rolled her eyes

and acted like my child was deseased and moved away from her. So the whole time during the class everytime one of the little girls would

run off or want to explore they would call them back to play with them, Not once did they call my daughter back. They constantly had a

negative attitude towards my child. The instructor wanted to cut the class off early the class starts at 5:45 and it ends at 6:45, And she

said at 6:20 well lets go down stairs to end the class, thats not right. so when all the parents and students left my sister and I waited till

they left to talk to her. I asked her about the special helper my daughter is suppossed to have because she is a special needs child, and I

aslked her why she was ignoring and acting like that towards my child. She had no answer and as I was talking to her and asking her

questions, she starts walking down the stairs, and away from a parent (me) when I was trying to talk to her, as I was talkingto the

instructor  the Helper  said to me with a huge attitude maybe cause its cause your child don't listen. I was irate at this point she made me

so upset, I said my child is a special needs child, she has a problem you don't talk to me like that. then she was like oh I didn't know she was

special needs, So if she wasn't special needs its ok for you to talk to me like that if I had a "normal" child. That was horrible. I went in this

place with a positive attitude looking forward to this experience for  my daughter and I.  and me and my daughter leave this place hurt and

in tears.

After that we walk down stairs behind the instructor and my mother was down stairs with my year old daughter waiting for us.
My sister demanded the name of the supervisor and all there names, and the instructor was reluctant to give us the names and then my

sister was furious, so the instructor gave them to her finally, The instructor told us that the other two girls  were not helpers  that they

were observers and I talked to her supervisor later that night and she said that she was in the wrong and those are helpers and they know

how to spot a special needs child, I told the supervisor those girls sould not be working with children if they are so ignorant.
I told Carmen my whole story and she said that they were in the wrong and she was sorry, But what does sorry do. Nothing at all.
I'm really hurt by the way my child was treated. It seems to me that they discriminate and ignore children with special needs or behavorial

differences.
When I registered her a few months prior to this event I told them and wrote on the application my daughter has Apraxia and signs of

Autism and that she is a runner, it was on the application, I disscussed it with the supervisor on that day. why didn't the instructor know

any of this?
I hope people will learn from our story and not be ignorant towards anyone who is different.
The supervisor offered us a opportunity to return but unfortunately I don't feel comfortable enough to return to the facility, I am very

hurt by all of this and I have never expected this treatment ever for my child.

Where it took place:
Peterson Park
5801 N. Pulaski Rd.
Chicago, IL 60646
Phone: 312-742-7584

I am so sorry you had to go through that.  It sounds like a nightmare.  It seems as if the world has a callous and ignorant.  I fear for our childrens future.  Sorry to be so negative, but it hurts to read something like this and to know this is just one of many stories. 

I have taken my kids to gymastics there before. It's not a well run program, in our 10 week session we had four different teachers, they kept leaving for different reasons. My kids did fine there, but they do not have any special needs. I would say that they definitely would not deal well with any special needs child, they can barely deal with any kid at all. Even though it was a drop off program, I never left my kids there because I didnt trust the supervision. A friend of mine pulled her child out of the class also because the teachers were not helpful or understanding when her child had a bathroom accident. I agree with you that this is terrible and they shouldnt treat you like this, but the reality is, it's a badly run program by these ladies that don't really seem to enjoy what they are doing, and you would probably have a better experience somewhere else. I would write angry letter, make angry phone calls, demand a refund, and take my business elsewhere.

I agree to write a letter and demand a refund, considering you tried to address the situation with the staff and got nowhere. I hate eye-rolling. That would have been the last straw for me. So sorry that your experience was a bad one. It sounds like the teachers have little to no actual experience working with children like your daughter, or relating to parents for that matter. 

What is your child's age? Perhaps we can help you brainstorm some ideas of local activities that are low/no cost that you can do with your child that are similar to a gymanstics or dance class. If she is a toddler, then perhaps a structured class might be too much for her now. But, something where the two of you can play together where she can begin to learn how to balance exploration with rest might be helpful for her. 

 

Thanks for sharing your story.  I was thinking of enrolling my duaghter in gymnastics in the fall there.  Hearing all the feedback I now won't bother. I hope you find a program that suits your needs and is well run.

I agree to write a letter and requirement a refund, conceiving you tried to address the situation with the staff and got nowhere. I hate eye- roaming.

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Aady

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