A LITTLE boy with autism was allegedly forced out of the cinema after a "heartless" woman told his mum that she should have kept him at home.

Vicky Page, 36, took her son Noah, 5, and his two siblings, aged nine and ten to watch Dumbo as a family day out.

But she claims the family were forced to leave after a fellow cinema goer kept giving them dirty looks and said that she "didn't care" that Noah had autism and that she should have left him at home.

She said: "Noah wasn't being naughty, he just got extremely excited.

"He finds it quite hard to stand still when he gets excited.

"He couldn't believe Dumbo could fly but instead of saying things quietly, he shouts things out pretty loud, and he just said 'elephant fly superhero' and then started really jumping.

"A woman and her son kept turning and giving us quite filthy looks.

"I ended up apologising and I said 'I'm really sorry, he has autism'.

"But the woman said 'I don't particularly care' and that I should keep him at home if he can't sit still.

A woman and her son kept turning and giving us quite filthy looks.

"It made me see red and I think in the end Noah saw me tensing up and I had to leave with my children.

"We went through to the foyer,where he ended up having a full blown meltdown and started headbutting the floor.

"It was very upsetting and I ended up getting quite emotional."

Vicky added the trip to Faversham's Royal Cinema was a treat for all three children and the family worked hard to prepare Noah for the special outing.

She said: "We only got half-an-hour into the film, and it is hard for my other two children, as it was a treat for them too.

"They need that treat because it is quite difficult for them as well as we are very limited.

"Our routines have to be quite structured, so they can't have people round to play.

"It is all about countdowns with Noah, so we had been preparing him for the cinema for a week; we can't just think let's go here, there's lots of preparation with him."

But Vicky, who works with special needs adults, said she is often forced to deal with unwanted comments from passers-by and even avoids supermarkets following similar incidents.

She said: "I get this sort of thing a lot.

"I try to avoid supermarkets – people tut, or come over to me and say 'if you walk away from him he'll follow you' when he's laying on the floor.

It is all about countdowns with Noah, so we had been preparing him for the cinema for a week; we can't just think let's go here, there's lots of preparation with him.

"Or 'if you give him a really hard smack he'll actually start to have some boundaries'.

"This sort of thing happens everywhere with everybody, but it just makes you so cross.

"He does look so normal when he's not having a meltdown, but if you spoke to him you could tell he's got needs.

"He goes to a special needs school, so he is behind for his age.

"So for him to even shout out I was so proud of him as he has only been able to string a sentence together for the last the year – it shows he's really coming on."

Vicky said the cinema should hold screenings especially for those with additional needs to avoid similar confrontations from happening.

She said: "People have been so supportive on social media.

"There have been special needs mums coming forward and they want to do this trip to the cinema, getting all the special-needs mums together.

"It would be lovely, the children could run around the cinema and make noises.

"I know people say you should go to autism-friendly screenings but they're miles away.

"I wanted to get my point across and raise awareness because I found the situation really sad and quite heartless."

Plenty of parents have voiced support for Vicky on social media and agreed that other members of the public should be more understanding of Noah's autism.

Danielle Chapman commented: "This is so sad and something I really fear with my son, he's not diagnosed yet but is showing potential early signs of autism.

"Why can't people be understanding.

"Poor little boy my heart really goes out to him and his mum.

"Just because someone is 'different' they still deserve to be apart of society and not be judged."

Emma Harman added: "I just find it so hard in today's world we just can't all have some empathy.

"I hope the other mother feels ashamed of herself, she has no right to say keep him at home."

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