A RESTAURANT owner has denied telling a mother her autistic boy was not welcome after allegations posted online by Game of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel went viral.
On Wednesday afternoon Southend resident Abbie Cammidge took her son to Eatalia Trattoria in The Broadway, Thorpe Bay.
Ms Cammidge alleges the owner said her son was not welcome in the restaurant after he had a meltdown – an intense response to overwhelming circumstances and a complete loss of behavioural control.
She alleges the owner had been rude towards her group of four mums who decided to leave and go elsewhere.
As they did, her son became convinced they had left his dad – who at no point had been with the party – behind in the restaurant.
When she headed back in to show her son he wasn’t there, he had a meltdown.
“He was throwing himself backward onto the concrete floor,” Ms Cammidge explained, adding she had to protect his head by “bear hugging him”.
During the commotion, one of Ms Cammidge’s friends overheard the owner say he would not have let the group into the restaurant had he known Ms Cammidge’s son was autistic.
“He didn’t choose to be the way that he is,” Ms Cammidge said. “It just breaks my heart as his mum. He shouldn’t have to deal with that.”
Denying the allegations, restaurant owner Giorgio said: “I did not say that at all. We did not have any idea that there was an autistic child in the party. We only found out after they had left the restaurant.
“We welcome all children in our restaurant and have never and will never tolerate any form of discrimination of any kind.”
The allegations were then posted by on Game of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel’s Instagram page.
Ms Emmanuel, who was born in Southend, said: My childhood friend Abbie Cammidge took her son, who has autism, to Eatalia Thorpe Bay and was allegedly told by the owner ‘we do not want autistic children in here’.
The post, which has amassed more than 30,000 likes, added: “No family or person should have to suffer the pain and indignity of this dehumanising treatment.”
