A young girl with autism went with her older sister to a Chili's Bar & Grill restaurant were she ordered a burger with fries. The burger was served "broken."
The older sister explained that her younger sister loves cheeseburgers so she was confused as to why the autistic girl didn't touch it after it was placed in front of her. Much to her surprise, the younger sibling sadly replied the burger was 'broken:'
“It's broken. I need another one that's fixed.”
The older sibling then realized the burger was cut in half! The autistic girl was not used to burgers being cut in half.
Many children with autism need routine in their daily lives and any deviation from that routine can bring on a 'melt-down.'
To avoid getting her little sister upset inside the Chili's restaurant, she calmly asked the waitress named Lauren if she could just order another cheeseburger and have it added to the order. She would gladly pay for the extra burger.
What Lauren did after that was exceptional.
Lauren not only replaced the 'broken burger' with a fixed one, she took the time to explain to the autistic girl what she was doing:
“I brought you a broken cheeseburger? You know what, I'll have them cook you a new one!”
The older sister explained on the Chili's Facebook page that by communicating with the girl, telling her what she was doing (removing the broken burger from the table and bringing a fixed burger), Lauren helped stopped a potential melt-down and what could have been an unpleasant situation in public.
And it gets better: The manager Bradley Cottermole of the Chili's restaurant was informed of the incident. Cottermole went to the autistic girl, kneeled down to her level and apologized to her for the 'broken burger.'
The autistic girl was so pleased with her “fixed burger” that she kissed it before eating it (click here to see the photo).
With the help of the staff at Chili's Bar & Grill, a potential melt-down was avoided. The situation was handled in a compassionate, professional manner. Many thanks to Lauren and Bradley in Midvale, UT!
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