A Florida mom says her family was kicked out of Universal’s Epic Universe theme park after a misunderstanding involving her autistic daughter.
Nikki Daou was accused of shoplifting and temporarily banned from Universal property, according to a letter sent by its lawyers. Daou told USA TODAY she’d taken her daughter outside of a crowded shop in an effort to avoid a meltdown in late December.
At the time, her then 6-year-old, whom she described as “severely autistic,” was holding onto a keychain they hadn't yet purchased, but intended to. Daou’s husband, Alain – who is also disabled and uses a wheelchair – removed the item’s tags and stayed behind to pay for it.
“She just clung to it. You know, she started saying, ‘My Mario, my Mario, my Mario.’ Repetition is a big thing in in her world,” Daou recalled. “We've learned you don't take things that (she's) become infatuated with.”
Daou also knew what could happen if she and her daughter stayed in the store much longer. “Within a matter of one to two minutes, she (can go) from being calm, cool and collective to throwing herself on the floor, hitting herself, hitting others, banging her head onto the floor, onto the wall,” Daou said, adding that her daughter had already one meltdown that trip, while waiting to get a disability accommodation pass from the resort.
