Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Raising kids with special needs: The place where everyone knows your kid's name


Max has this thing about his chocolate milkshakes: He wants three of them, every single time. Long before we get to the ice-cream store, he's reminding us that he wants three milkshakes. Chocolate. At home, when we whip one up in the blender, same thing: "Eeeee!" says Max ("Three!"). I don't see this as a problem, though someday when Max is in his martini phase and Dave and I accompany him to happy hour, downing three martinis at once might be a bit excessive.

We usually hit the Cold Stone Creamery near us at around 6:00 at night. The store's pretty empty then, which is Max nirvana. Max dashes right up to the counter. The guy there says hello. "You want three chocolate milkshakes, right, Max?" he asks, rhetorically, and Max nods happily. He makes one shake and splits it into three cups. Max polishes them all off.

It's not very eco-correct to use three cups, so hopefully this phase won't last forever. Still, we have to hold the cups for Max to drink out of (he has trouble grasping them but insists on them) and it helps that they're not filled to the top. Most important, Max feels totally comfortable at this place and there's never any drama. I'm comforted, too—it's great to have someone behind the counter who knows Max's milkshake habit and who doesn't give me a strange look (or turn me down) about divvying up the milkshake. And the Oreo Creme Filling ice-cream doesn't suck, either.

Do you have a go-to place like this in your neighborhood where your child and family are welcome...and comfortable?

Oh, and if you are a person who takes issue with Max's milkshake habit, refer to The Spaghetti Manifesto and substitute "milkshake" for "spaghetti."

10 comments:

  1. I object to Max's milkshake habit--because now he's made me crave a chocolate milkshake, and it's only 8 am = )

    Hey--speaking of spaghetti--I thought about you in the store the other day. They had Barilla-brand "Cut Spaghetti"--boxed pasta that was basically pre-broken spaghetti. It looked pretty good. Have you tried it?

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  2. our local pub landlord doesn't blink when we turn up with tribe including Ashley. They whip up whatever is his current favourite (currently gravy and mash) and usually throw in a free ice cream.

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  3. One of our favorite local restaurants always serves the kids' dinners QUICK--which is wonderful, as they are typically extremely hungry once we sit down. They also don't blink when E orders mussels--the girl loves them! They also make sure to have the tops on the kids' cups on TIGHT (I normally remind them, but they've never let me down, and we've had several tip-overs).

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  4. Has Max been granted a wish? Take him to Give Kids The World! There is an ice cream shop in that place that would LOVE to fix Max 3 shakes. They do whatever the wish kid wants!!

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  5. The local Red Robin down the street, My brother has that place wrapped around his fingers. we walk in there and every one knows Wes and knows what he wants to order. and if he changes his mind they are patient and try to listen and understand his order ( he is hard to understand most of the time when he is out in public)

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  6. When Clay was about 2, I started taking him to the local Tim Horton's on the way to speech. As his speech ability progressed, I made him "order" what kind of timbits he wanted--even if I had to translate for the counter girls. As he got older, and his therapy times changed, we stopped going as often. The last time I went through the drive-thru, the guy recognized me and commented that I hadn't been in in a while.

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  7. I so wish we had that. Im so self conscious of others looking at us when he talks loud or repeats himself 8 times. I feel bad, I shouldnt feel that way. Even now, Im dreading our church Halloween party because I know there wont be any games he can participate in. The only place we go is to the playground in our little village because we're usually the only ones there and he can run and play.

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  8. We do. It makes my day to walk into a store where the man behind the counter shouts "there's my favorite customer!" in reference to my daughter. There are actually two local merchants that treat her like a princess. It's a great feeling.

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  9. I work not far from a day program for adults with developmental disabilities. There's a deli right next door, which I frequent for a variety of reasons... (like it's close and they have high traffic so the food is alway fresh). One thing I LOVE, though is how the staff interact with the adults who go to the program next door. Always respectful, always patient, always with a big friendly greeting to their regulars. Even to "S" who repeats the same 5 questions any time anyone talks to him. :-)

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  10. I love the fact that they remember him and cater to him. I wish that more places were like that. We have a local restaurant that used to cater to my son. He has some behavioral/emotional issues and they were so great with him. They kind of went down hill so we haven't been there in a while, but I would love to find a place like that again.

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Thanks for sharing!