A social media post shared by a single mother from Netanya, in which she claimed a lifeguard kicked her and her autistic teenage son out of a public swimming pool, spurred outrage online over the weekend.
In her post, Haya Cohen said that she and her low-functioning autistic son Netanel were asked to leave a public swimming pool in Beit Herut in the Hefer Valley Regional Council after the pool manager claimed the noises her son made bothered other swimmers.
Cohen wrote that "he expressed no compassion nor understanding for the situation and suggested I don't bring my son there anymore."
Speaking to Ynet, Cohen described the sequence of events at the pool that left her and 18-year-old Netantel feeling shocked and humiliated.
"My son swam in his own lane. He did not disturb anyone, nor did he intrude on anyone's personal space. After about 15 minutes, the lifeguard approached me and said he was very sorry, but the noises my son was making bothered other swimmers. I explained to him that this is an autistic boy and that he does not control the sounds he makes, and that when autistics get excited or happy, they make sounds of joy," she said.
"He is not an ordinary boy, and he cannot regulate the volume of his voice. We were also in a noisy pool and there were other children there and babies crying. I did not come to a place where I was supposed to keep quiet. But that did not convince the lifeguard, and he said it was not the same and that those noises were bothering and jarring. I was shocked and demanded to speak to the pool manager, but he told me he was also the pool manager and that the noises were bothering him.
"I was shocked, I have never received such treatment because the pool is the only leisure activity I have been taking Netanel to all these years. I have been raising him for 18 years and I have never encountered such demands. Then the lifeguard told me he suggested not to bring my son there anymore. These words made me break out crying and upload this post which became so viral."
The pool manager was reprimanded for his behavior and even called Haya and apologized, but the Beit Herut pool said in response that the lifeguard was not aware of Netanel's disability.
"We deeply regret the mother feels that way and apologize for her anguish. However, the pool manager was not aware that this was an autistic child, so he approached the mother about the noise," a response read. "The pool manager never told the mother not to bring her son here anymore, as she claimed in her post. Upon learning of the case, the management returned to the mother, at her request, the remaining subscription fee back, and even offered her to come with her son free of charge until the end of the season. We are sorry for this case that does not characterize the pool and its employees in the slightest."
Cohen said she did not believe the lifeguard was unaware of her son's disabilities and regretted that the management was trying to paint her as a liar.