tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post6824925696658286243..comments2022-04-12T01:02:30.533+08:00Comments on Autism Philippines - My Family's Journey with Autism: An Open Letter to Gymboree PhilippinesLuanne Monique Dulayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17117740454262228758noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-31533004672978292532016-09-04T07:38:03.263+08:002016-09-04T07:38:03.263+08:00I dont think you really FEEL for them. You have no...I dont think you really FEEL for them. You have no idea how challenging it is to be a parent of a special needs child. It is not about a "special pass" but it is about having compassion and empathy which the gymboree staff lacked, and you probably too. It's people like you... SmhAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-25540826631116664082015-10-27T08:28:40.336+08:002015-10-27T08:28:40.336+08:00I am intending or I was intending to enroll my gra...I am intending or I was intending to enroll my grandson at the Eastwood branch thats why I searched for infos and feedback re this Gymboree. We were there yesterday for the 30min free play. First- I am a Reading Specialist. I do reading intervention before an reading disability becomes a learning disbility. I ran my own center so I now how to welcome parents who drop by to inquire... yesterday was my third time to inquire as the people there are too -maybe- shy??? Because, they seem to hold information ... seem like they dont want to brief me. I just want to know their programs. Well,of course, I did not tell them what I do. I just fired questions- one of the staff was actually surprised when I asked if they were putting my grandson in a vertical class. She was able to answer - no- only after a while. The staff are not so accomodating..most of them stare and do not encourage people to enroll. They are just wrapped with jackets with soulfull looks. I even asked my daughter- are they zombies? Cause they dont look like teachers...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-87418749185845101432014-10-06T09:08:30.714+08:002014-10-06T09:08:30.714+08:00I felt heartbroken. In behalf of all the teachers,...I felt heartbroken. In behalf of all the teachers, we are sorry for the ignorance. We really need to be educated when it comes to children with special needs. They are God's unique creation and should not be shunned away. God bless!Reginanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-88321770593240570842013-10-10T05:34:30.142+08:002013-10-10T05:34:30.142+08:00I also bump into situations when people are so mea...I also bump into situations when people are so mean. an example is when we are on board an airplane, my baby cried during the flight. The young couple in front of us gave their irritated gaze then looked away. They should've been more considerate. With special needs or not, inside Gymboree or not, people must always show compassion. I understand that for some who do not yet have their children, they are quite arrogant in terms of dealing with children although I hope that one day, there will come a time when they will have their own opportunity to experience the challenges of being a parent. As for the management of this establishment, they should've known and reflected on the type of business they have. This is for kids, it's then rightfully a must to employ people with patience and compassion and also COMMON SENSE. Camhttp://www.camsdcute.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-33509988333031298682013-09-04T23:44:33.282+08:002013-09-04T23:44:33.282+08:00Hello Ms. Luanne and to you Mr./Ms. Anonymous!
Ms...Hello Ms. Luanne and to you Mr./Ms. Anonymous! <br />Ms. Luanne's angel is a kid, wether she has autism or not! staff and the mngt of gymboree doest have actually to know everything about children with special needs! you just simply have to have a heart! you dont have to be a parent or a mother ( better if u are ) to understand this. Would it also might have been ok if the kid's parents are celebrities????? c'mon! were in the Philippines! i mean, sometimes people are just so unfair and maybe nowadays, commonsense is not so common anymore. i know my comment is way way too late.. but at least i shared what i felt. to you anonymous.. are u working for gymboree? good for you, maybe u could tell your colleagues to be alil bit considerate. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-38498550936041705062013-08-26T09:28:37.736+08:002013-08-26T09:28:37.736+08:00I just read this now while doing research for clas...I just read this now while doing research for classes for my toddler. <br /><br />I held my daughter's first birthday party at Gymboree in Robinson's Magnolia. I'm a bit shocked with your experience, though. One of my daughter's guests was a 5-year old, and another an 8-year old. Neither had special needs. Their parents were told though that they were allowed on the play floor during the activities (they had an hour's worth of play activities designed to "celebrate" the birthday celebrant), but after that, they were asked to get out of the play area and stay within the art/music rooms. They were a bit bummed (I mean, all the kids were in the play area, playing!), but rules are rules. The point is, though, that they were ALLOWED in the play area DURING the activities. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-74362581119152656672013-02-18T11:35:12.310+08:002013-02-18T11:35:12.310+08:00Before you whine and play the special needs trump ...Before you whine and play the special needs trump card, think about this first: Did they refuse entry because your child has special needs? Did they refuse entry because of her age? If your answer to the first is no and yes to the next, what's the big deal? Next time, plan, check for age limits, height limits, weight limits, dress code: socks or no socks, do they play loud music, etc. so your 'efforts' on setting you child's mindset to go there will not be wasted. Don't get me wrong, I feel for you, but I think you're using your child's special needs as an all-areas-covered special pass. Jerboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00536078253082515182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-34935895740391361872013-01-29T23:50:34.547+08:002013-01-29T23:50:34.547+08:00Given that they are very stict on age limit, shoul...Given that they are very stict on age limit, should we lie to gymboree and backtrack the birth year of our child just to let them in?! I think they should give more consideration on height like what amusement parks do.. my twin daughter is diagnosed with Global Delay and her weight and height doesn't fit her age. Born very premature, i had a hard time feeding and nourishing her. My twins are 5 years old already but my girl looks more like 3-4 years of age only. Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15018498956203807765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-2486337757948876002013-01-29T01:21:08.781+08:002013-01-29T01:21:08.781+08:00Aww. That's the biggest problem that branch ha...Aww. That's the biggest problem that branch has. They really lack PR, customer relations and compassion. That's exactly what I told my husband, if they allowed my daughter to enter even for just 10 minutes, it would have made a big difference. We would be very happy and write about how courteous and understanding they are of the situation. <br /><br />We've been going to Gymboree since she was 2, we were never informed of the age limit until that day. We were hoping that for one last time, they would allow my daughter. It's just sad this has to happen. Luanne Monique Dulayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17117740454262228758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-45382594010222582722013-01-29T01:12:35.668+08:002013-01-29T01:12:35.668+08:00Hi! This letter was also sent to Gymboree Manageme...Hi! This letter was also sent to Gymboree Management and was replied to that same day (which we truly appreciate). I also posted their reply in this blog and on Facebook.<br /><br />We never intended to "shoo-away individuals, institutions or corporate entities" or "to gang-up public sympathy". As I mentioned in my letter, I wanted my fellow parents to know of their policies, age limits and how they treat people, to avoid this incident to happen again. We want them to be informed of what autism is and how different our kids are.<br /><br />When I shared what happened to us in my status, I didn't ask people to share it. I also want my fellow parents, family and friends to know what we felt. My husband and I were also surprised how 200 people shared it, how many parents like me experienced the same treatment, how many private messages I received and coincidentally, it was National Autism Awareness Week. My fellow special parents, friends, families and people we don't even know convinced us to take action. <br /><br />I'm sorry if you think this is wrong, but we're happy to make a small difference in our daughter's life and the lives of many angels and families out there by raising awareness about autism. Thanks.Luanne Monique Dulayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17117740454262228758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-61377338713633183602013-01-29T00:56:16.303+08:002013-01-29T00:56:16.303+08:00I hope his sister was there. I'm sure she'...I hope his sister was there. I'm sure she'll understand that a promise made to a child with autism needs to be given or a major meltdown might occur. I know she'll treat us better and be more empathetic if she was there. =( God bless you and your special angel.Luanne Monique Dulayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17117740454262228758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-77837343838627121512013-01-29T00:32:12.991+08:002013-01-29T00:32:12.991+08:00Dear Luanne, I'm sorry to have read about how...Dear Luanne, I'm sorry to have read about how you were treated and I write to you because i've read your post in facebook from a shared link and I am still furious and hurt from our experience at GYMBOREE MAGNOLIA (yes, this particular franchise/branch). They are NOT kid friendly and they dont know what PR & customer relation is all about! I felt really bad & angry when my daughter begged and cried because she wanted to paint and the staff ignored her. There was still 5 minutes on the clock before our time ended and when confronted they said "kasi ALMOST time's up na!". We pay them by the hour/minute so technically, even if its the last minute, we are still entitled to do whatever we want to do there, right?! Ironically, the staff is familiar with my 3 kids because they were regular clients and it was their favorite place. This also happened on a thursday and we were the ONLY clients inside. The least they could have done was to ask me if i wanted to extend and pay!<br />Had they been more sympathetic or courteous, another 5 minutes on their clock would have made a difference as we would probably feel happier right? Well, its their loss and can't blame management because the owner of this particular branch is the one manning it already :-( <br />I swore never to go back to this branch ever again! -KIM NGKimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15018498956203807765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-25036275239200854482013-01-26T15:55:43.255+08:002013-01-26T15:55:43.255+08:00I came across this letter through facebook. While ...I came across this letter through facebook. While we understand and we emphatize with the concerns indicated here, does it really have to be an Open Letter? I wish the day will come when issues (public and private) will NOT be posted online and addressed directly to the concerned parties. <br /><br />Although the intent of this letter is noble, these sensationalization of issues shoo-away individuals, institutions or corporate entities who would like to extend assistance to advocacies fearing that they will also be subjected to something like this when something irregular comes up that may be or should have been resolved privately.<br /><br />Open Letters does not resolve everything. It is a mere outlet of ones emotion and trying to gang-up public sympathy.<br /><br />If the issue was address directly to Gymboree, am sure they will do something about it. After all they are in the business of child entertainment don't you think?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-54860426561627856242013-01-26T13:39:42.122+08:002013-01-26T13:39:42.122+08:00My son has been clinically diagnosed with Asperger...My son has been clinically diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. He attends a special needs school in QC. By the way, his sister teaches at Gymboree Magnolia. But I guess you did not know that. Peace and God bless. <br /><br />DBA of QCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-26587730017410771512013-01-26T11:34:14.522+08:002013-01-26T11:34:14.522+08:00It's sad that the staff have no idea what auti...It's sad that the staff have no idea what autism is. We begged them to let her enter even for a few minutes. If they are "more sensitive and knowledgeable about autism" they would've been "more flexible with the rules" We were actually talking to the manager of the branch and everybody there. It was disheartening. =(Luanne Monique Dulayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17117740454262228758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-91653510589888567132013-01-26T06:09:17.189+08:002013-01-26T06:09:17.189+08:00Would it have been ok if she didn't have autis...Would it have been ok if she didn't have autism? Don't think this is a 'be more sensitive to autism' issue as much as a 'be more flexible with the rules' issue. If the employee was too afraid to not follow the rules they could have at least pleaded the case with their manager, especially if the website says 5 is ok.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-26580961236659382842013-01-25T00:52:33.816+08:002013-01-25T00:52:33.816+08:00I totally agree with you. We just realized that we...I totally agree with you. We just realized that we still have so much to do to raise awareness. I know that if the people from Gymboree knew about autism, they would've done things differently. They looked at us like they have no idea what it is. I hope that this will be an eye-opener for them and start re-training their staff and learn about the condition which is very prevalent already. We will never stop advocating for our daughter who's the source of all our strength and happiness. Thanks.Luanne Monique Dulayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17117740454262228758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7404810189639374791.post-16230699466979899732013-01-24T23:22:40.133+08:002013-01-24T23:22:40.133+08:00I'm really sad to hear about what your daughte...I'm really sad to hear about what your daughter went through at Gymboree. It makes me realize more and more how Autism awareness and acceptance is lacking (and at times practically non-existent!) in our country. What makes this even sadder is that it is National Autism Awareness Week right now! Sadly, We have a long, long, long way to go as a nation and as a community. <br /><br />Keep fighting and advocating for your daughter! I pray that we may one day have a country - and a world - that is a more loving and more accepting of one another. Anjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08223059219128619128noreply@blogger.com