As an autistic savant, Ryan Morales has an extraordinary talent for music -- he can play the piano by ear; he has an encyclopedic knowledge of Broadway trivia, and he loves to go to his local music store to look at the drums.
But the owner of Lane Music Center blocked the 13-year-old boy and his caregiver from entering the New Dorp Lane shop this week because, the store owner said, Ryan's behavior makes him feel uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry, I'm not going to let you in," owner Alan Wilcov reportedly told Ryan's caregiver, Oluwaseun Cole, whose job it is to take Ryan on walks through the community to familiarize him with the social rituals of everyday life. "I just can't let him in," Cole said Wilcov had told him on Wednesday afternoon.
Musically inclined Ryan Morales of New Dorp looked forward to visiting the Lane Music Center.
"I have a problem with his kind," he allegedly told Ryan's parents and caregiver later that night, when they went to the store to discuss what had happened; it was a heated conversation that left both parties fuming.
Wilcov denies using those words, but he says that when Ryan entered the store for the fourth time in two days, he asked the caregiver to make their visits less frequent.
"When he is in here, I have a heightened level of concern," Wilcov told the Advance. "It makes me a little anxious in comparison to having a normal visitor."
That, he added, "doesn't deserve to be called discrimination."
But Ryan's stunned family doesn't know what else to call it.
The law is clear: Exclusion and unequal treatment, according to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), constitute discrimination when they're applied to a person for no reason other than a disability.
"It would be a violation of the ADA to prevent a person with a disability from entering," said Department of Justice spokeswoman Cynthia Magnuson. "Businesses have a responsibility to give access to people with disabilities-- just like anyone else. In this circumstance, it seems likely that there was a violation."
Ryan and his residential habilitation worker took neighborhood walks on Tuesday and Wednesday: Walks that began and ended with brief visits to Lane Music Center. Ryan's fascination with the drums in the shop enables the caregiver to reward and reinforce the teen-ager's good behavior as he develops community skills.
Ryan has pervasive developmental disorder and a moderate case of autism, the brain development disorder that affects 1 in 166 children. The condition affects Ryan's communication skills and manifests in repetitive and ritualistic behavior; Ryan might bite his hand when he feels upset. But he has striking memorization skills and he's more affectionate, his mother says, than the average teen.
When Ryan and his caregiver went to the music store for the second time on Tuesday, Cole says the owner expressed reluctance to let them in. Cole, who is Nigerian, said he'd wondered, at first, whether the cold welcome had been based on his race.
Ryan's 11-year-old brother, who was with them, said Wilcov rolled his eyes and sighed when they walked in. "He got all angry and I don't know why," he said.
Wilcov explained to the Advance Thursday: "I was more than happy to allow him to come into the store with his caregiver. Then he came back with his caregiver that same afternoon. I said I'd like to put limits on this. I don't think it's fair for him to come in two times a day. I feel it's within my rights to put limits on his visitation."
Wilcov added that he and his business have a longstanding reputation for friendly service.
"If I was a discriminator, why did I allow him into the store the first time? There are many handicapped people who come in here and I'm very gracious to them. Not until the fourth visit did I say something. I was polite about it, too."
Wilcov said Ryan had never caused a problem in the store; he hadn't been loud, unruly or destructive.
His visits lasted about two minutes, according to Cole, who said Ryan liked to count the drums in the window, then look at the sheet music and go.
When Ryan's parents confronted Wilcov on Wednesday night, they said the store owner had insisted Ryan could not be considered a customer.
"Come on," the parents and caregiver said he had told them, "No one would buy a drum set for that kind."
"He kept saying, 'that kind,' " said Frances Morales, Ryan's mother. "That was so hurtful. He made you feel like your kid wasn't a human being."
"A community is supposed to be a close-knit group of people who accommodate each other," said Ryan's father, Leonardo.
Staten Island has often supported Ryan. Neighbors donate to the Eden II School in Ryan's name and walked as a team in a recent fund-raiser for Autism Speaks; Our Lady Queen of Peace R.C. Church, New Dorp, has held five annual basketball tournaments in Ryan's honor. The Staten Island Board of Realtors only yesterday held its third annual Family Day, an event that will fund Eden II's new children's playground.
When somehow the community fails, says special education attorney Daniel Ajello, whose daughter has cerebral palsy, it's difficult for parents to know what to do next.
"The challenge for the parent is to take it as an opportunity to educate others," he said. "It's a shame when a store owner doesn't know what to do. Unfortunately, every parent has a story like this."
This is a story that Ryan, who calls out "Lane Music" at the beginning of his daily walk, won't understand.
"Ryan's not going to know why he can't go back there, and that's sad, because he loved to go there," his father said.
-- Contributed by Tevah Platt
if you find me you won one rental to vudu for $1.00 on your ps3 computers or app device enjoy call us at 540-975-1917
But the owner of Lane Music Center blocked the 13-year-old boy and his caregiver from entering the New Dorp Lane shop this week because, the store owner said, Ryan's behavior makes him feel uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry, I'm not going to let you in," owner Alan Wilcov reportedly told Ryan's caregiver, Oluwaseun Cole, whose job it is to take Ryan on walks through the community to familiarize him with the social rituals of everyday life. "I just can't let him in," Cole said Wilcov had told him on Wednesday afternoon.
Musically inclined Ryan Morales of New Dorp looked forward to visiting the Lane Music Center.Wilcov denies using those words, but he says that when Ryan entered the store for the fourth time in two days, he asked the caregiver to make their visits less frequent.
"When he is in here, I have a heightened level of concern," Wilcov told the Advance. "It makes me a little anxious in comparison to having a normal visitor."
That, he added, "doesn't deserve to be called discrimination."
But Ryan's stunned family doesn't know what else to call it.
The law is clear: Exclusion and unequal treatment, according to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), constitute discrimination when they're applied to a person for no reason other than a disability.
"It would be a violation of the ADA to prevent a person with a disability from entering," said Department of Justice spokeswoman Cynthia Magnuson. "Businesses have a responsibility to give access to people with disabilities-- just like anyone else. In this circumstance, it seems likely that there was a violation."
Ryan and his residential habilitation worker took neighborhood walks on Tuesday and Wednesday: Walks that began and ended with brief visits to Lane Music Center. Ryan's fascination with the drums in the shop enables the caregiver to reward and reinforce the teen-ager's good behavior as he develops community skills.
Ryan has pervasive developmental disorder and a moderate case of autism, the brain development disorder that affects 1 in 166 children. The condition affects Ryan's communication skills and manifests in repetitive and ritualistic behavior; Ryan might bite his hand when he feels upset. But he has striking memorization skills and he's more affectionate, his mother says, than the average teen.
When Ryan and his caregiver went to the music store for the second time on Tuesday, Cole says the owner expressed reluctance to let them in. Cole, who is Nigerian, said he'd wondered, at first, whether the cold welcome had been based on his race.
Ryan's 11-year-old brother, who was with them, said Wilcov rolled his eyes and sighed when they walked in. "He got all angry and I don't know why," he said.
Wilcov explained to the Advance Thursday: "I was more than happy to allow him to come into the store with his caregiver. Then he came back with his caregiver that same afternoon. I said I'd like to put limits on this. I don't think it's fair for him to come in two times a day. I feel it's within my rights to put limits on his visitation."
Wilcov added that he and his business have a longstanding reputation for friendly service.
"If I was a discriminator, why did I allow him into the store the first time? There are many handicapped people who come in here and I'm very gracious to them. Not until the fourth visit did I say something. I was polite about it, too."
Wilcov said Ryan had never caused a problem in the store; he hadn't been loud, unruly or destructive.
His visits lasted about two minutes, according to Cole, who said Ryan liked to count the drums in the window, then look at the sheet music and go.
When Ryan's parents confronted Wilcov on Wednesday night, they said the store owner had insisted Ryan could not be considered a customer.
"Come on," the parents and caregiver said he had told them, "No one would buy a drum set for that kind."
"He kept saying, 'that kind,' " said Frances Morales, Ryan's mother. "That was so hurtful. He made you feel like your kid wasn't a human being."
"A community is supposed to be a close-knit group of people who accommodate each other," said Ryan's father, Leonardo.
Staten Island has often supported Ryan. Neighbors donate to the Eden II School in Ryan's name and walked as a team in a recent fund-raiser for Autism Speaks; Our Lady Queen of Peace R.C. Church, New Dorp, has held five annual basketball tournaments in Ryan's honor. The Staten Island Board of Realtors only yesterday held its third annual Family Day, an event that will fund Eden II's new children's playground.
When somehow the community fails, says special education attorney Daniel Ajello, whose daughter has cerebral palsy, it's difficult for parents to know what to do next.
"The challenge for the parent is to take it as an opportunity to educate others," he said. "It's a shame when a store owner doesn't know what to do. Unfortunately, every parent has a story like this."
This is a story that Ryan, who calls out "Lane Music" at the beginning of his daily walk, won't understand.
"Ryan's not going to know why he can't go back there, and that's sad, because he loved to go there," his father said.
-- Contributed by Tevah Platt
if you find me you won one rental to vudu for $1.00 on your ps3 computers or app device enjoy call us at 540-975-1917
No comments:
Post a Comment