A mum and her four-year-old son were asked to leave Asda while she shopped for a birthday cake for him because he was being too loud - thanks to his deafness and possible ADHD. Leanne Hampson, 39, and Alfie were asked to leave the supermarket on Thursday morning.
Alfie has a glue ear, and last year was forced to wear a hearing aid as he is partially deaf. He is also being assessed for ADHD. The num and son were approached by security staff after Alfie made "loud, screeching noises", reports The Echo.
Leanne says the security guard told her to "either leave the store or control her child" following noise complaints from other customers. She said: "Alfie's hearing condition means that he is quite loud. When I was doing my shopping, he was making a screeching noise and I did tell him to stop.
“When I was at the checkout, the security guard came over to me. I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I’ve never been so ashamed in my life."
As they left the store, the security guard gave Alfie a high five and said: "Aw see, you can be quiet". Leanne felt that this was "incredibly patronising".
She said: “The whole experience was an absolute shambles. It’s awful to be discriminated against, and I want to make people aware that people have disabled children in this day and age, and it's hard work.
Four-year-old Alfie is partially deaf (Image: Leanne Hampson)
"For a giant superstore like Asda, they should be used to this, and for the security guard to come over to me in front of other people - it’s embarrassing and quite shocking. I’d like them to just keep an open mind in future and maybe staff need extra training in this area. I do understand that it can be upsetting for other customers, but what am I going to do, put a sticker on his back saying 'I’m sorry about the noise that I make'?”
Following the incident, the mum-of-five, whose four other children are on ADHD medication, lodged a complaint with Asda, but says she's been "put off" shopping there again. She said: “I do shop around quite a lot and I’ve never had this problem. But to be targeted like that in full view of other people, I felt like I’d robbed something or done something bad.”
A spokesperson for ASDA has said colleagues didn't intend to offend Leanne, adding: "Despite receiving complaints from other customers about her son making loud noises, colleagues at our Chester store decided instead to try and make light of the situation by joking with Leanne and her son. If these comments have upset Leanne that was never our intention, and we look forward to welcoming them both back to our store very soon.’’
