BOSSES at a Renfrewshire store have apologised after a little girl was turned away from the shop’s creche because she suffers from ‘mild autism.’
Emily Bowie said her daughter was initially admitted to the play area at Braehead IKEA, but the employees attitude “completely changed” when she told them the child was mildly autistic.
A spokeswoman for IKEA said the play area had reached ‘the maximum number of children allocated to staff.”
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Emily said: “I was really shocked - I thought things like this were from the dark ages.”
The National Autistic Society Scotland said cases such as this were not uncommon.
Nick Ward, Director at the National Autistic Society Scotland said: “We want a society that works for autistic people and their families. No autistic person should be treated differently.”
An IKEA spokeswoman said, “For children with additional needs, our policy is to offer one-to-one care on their first visit and then based on this, assess the needs for future sessions.
“Our crèche had reached the maximum number of children to allocated staff and we were therefore unable to provide the necessary care required.
“We have since apologised for any inconvenience caused and have been in contact with the customer.”
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