AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)
A Bingham mum has thanked a shop worker after she helped when her autistic son became distressed during their weekly shop.
Mum-of-two Clair Hewson was doing her weekly shop in Aldi on Sunday (October 15) when her autistic son, Thomas, became distressed at the till.
A check out assistant, called Linda, has been praised by Ms Hewson for her fast thinking, which led to the situation being resolved quickly.
Clair Hewson said: "I had just got to the till and we were loading our food onto the counter when a baby started screaming so loudly. The noise immediately started affecting my son, Thomas, who has autism, and he started hitting his head in pain.
"I tried to cover his ears but it wasn't helping and I knew that it was going to be very bad if we didn't get him somewhere else quickly.
"Then all of a sudden, Linda got up from a different till and just dropped everything she was doing to help us. She signalled for us to go towards the manager's office. She opened the door and then called for the manager to sit with Thomas until I had finished my shopping.
"She acted quicker than I could have done myself and she knew exactly what the best thing to do was. It is a good example of autism awareness and how helpful it was to mums like me."
Following the incident at Aldi, Ms Hewson took to Facebook to say thank you to the shop worker.
She wrote: "Thank you amazing lady. You have not only saved Tom at this moment in time but my entire day. A meltdown would have been horrific then and continued in a downward spiral all day. You don't know how much you saved Tom and my day."
Ms Hewson explained to the Post the importance of autism awareness following the supermarket incident.
She said: "To me it is really important that people understand autism. Most people assume your child is naughty and just stare whereas Linda knew that he wasn't just being naughty and he needed help.
"So much planning goes into a trip out if you are going with an autistic person. I need to choose the quietest time to shop and make sure everything goes smoothly."
A spokesman for the supermarket chain Aldi said he was pleased that Linda was able to help.
He added: “We’re glad to hear that our colleagues were able to help Clair and her son Tom on Sunday and would like to thank Clair for letting us know.”
Source: Aldi worker comes to the rescue of mum and distressed autistic son
A Bingham mum has thanked a shop worker after she helped when her autistic son became distressed during their weekly shop.
Mum-of-two Clair Hewson was doing her weekly shop in Aldi on Sunday (October 15) when her autistic son, Thomas, became distressed at the till.
A check out assistant, called Linda, has been praised by Ms Hewson for her fast thinking, which led to the situation being resolved quickly.
Clair Hewson said: "I had just got to the till and we were loading our food onto the counter when a baby started screaming so loudly. The noise immediately started affecting my son, Thomas, who has autism, and he started hitting his head in pain.
"I tried to cover his ears but it wasn't helping and I knew that it was going to be very bad if we didn't get him somewhere else quickly.
"Then all of a sudden, Linda got up from a different till and just dropped everything she was doing to help us. She signalled for us to go towards the manager's office. She opened the door and then called for the manager to sit with Thomas until I had finished my shopping.
"She acted quicker than I could have done myself and she knew exactly what the best thing to do was. It is a good example of autism awareness and how helpful it was to mums like me."
Following the incident at Aldi, Ms Hewson took to Facebook to say thank you to the shop worker.
She wrote: "Thank you amazing lady. You have not only saved Tom at this moment in time but my entire day. A meltdown would have been horrific then and continued in a downward spiral all day. You don't know how much you saved Tom and my day."
Ms Hewson explained to the Post the importance of autism awareness following the supermarket incident.
She said: "To me it is really important that people understand autism. Most people assume your child is naughty and just stare whereas Linda knew that he wasn't just being naughty and he needed help.
"So much planning goes into a trip out if you are going with an autistic person. I need to choose the quietest time to shop and make sure everything goes smoothly."
A spokesman for the supermarket chain Aldi said he was pleased that Linda was able to help.
He added: “We’re glad to hear that our colleagues were able to help Clair and her son Tom on Sunday and would like to thank Clair for letting us know.”
Source: Aldi worker comes to the rescue of mum and distressed autistic son
