An Eastside family’s upsetting experience at a Bellevue screening of the movie “Finding Dory” has them hoping the community can find compassion and understanding for autistic children.

Issaquah resident Jessica Matthews brought her autistic son, Aiden, 3, to the Regal Cinemas at Crossroads Mall on June 21 to see “Finding Dory.” Since his diagnosis six months ago, Matthews has been very careful about taking Aiden on outings. But a children’s movie about a fish with a disability would be perfect for Aiden’s first-ever movie theater experience, she thought.

When the movie started, Aiden began fidgeting and became overwhelmed. That’s not uncommon among autistic people, many of whom have difficulty processing sensory information and can be over-sensitive to light, sounds, smells and more. Some places — such as Regal’s competitor, AMC — offer special movie showings for children and families living with autism or other special needs.

But as the theater wasn’t crowded and Matthews had been careful to choose seats away from most of the attendees, she didn’t expect what came next.

“I saw people get up and complain, and all of the sudden, the manager came over and said if I couldn’t control my son, we would need to leave,” despite her explanation that Aiden is autistic, she told the Reporter. When she went outside to get a refund for their movie tickets, the manager was unapologetic.

A former Regal Cinemas employee, Matthews said the situation was very upsetting.

“I used to work for Regal, I worked alongside people who were paralyzed or had other disabilities. I really thought the employees at Crossroads would have had more sensitivity training and awareness. To be kicked out like that, it was like a kick to the gut,” she said.

Regal Cinemas did not respond to requests for comment, and Matthews said she has not heard from the company since the incident.

The story was shared by an Eastside blogger and mother of an autistic child, Phoebe Holmes. The post quickly gained traction, as did a second article written by Holmes discussing the lack of places she can take her autistic child.

“The world just really isn’t designed to cater to disabilities …We spend our lives adapting to the world. Only to be told that we can’t or we shouldn’t by those who think ‘those kids’ shouldn’t be in every day places like a children’s movie,” Holmes wrote.

While many say the Eastside is better than some other areas across the country at accommodating people with autism and other disabilities, families of autistic children still have difficulty going out in public and being social.

Families sometimes find their friends pulling away or unintentionally isolating autistic children by only inviting their “neurotypical” or normal siblings to events, said Susan Steckler, whose niece has special needs. Families face huge challenges in finding community support, she added.

In other cases, the parents of autistic children are criticized for not being able to “control” their children, though they argue they can’t predict how their kids will react to new environments.

Parents have chastised Matthews for Aiden’s behavior at Gymboree classes and strangers have glared at her in public if Aiden becomes overwhelmed, she said.

As the mother of an autistic child, Arzu Forough with the Washington Autism Alliance said that she too has often run into people who fault the parents. But some communities on the Eastside are better than others, and the alliance has generally had good experiences in Bellevue, she added.

The city’s Highland Center is specially designed for special needs children and the city is currently constructing a special playground Downtown. KidsQuest Museum also offered special movie screenings for autistic children, though only once a month.

Crossroads, in particular, had been the destination of many of the alliance’s group outings. The fact that someone with autism was removed from a children’s movie at a Crossroads theater baffled her, Forough said.

Overall, the social opportunities for children with autism are very limited, Forough said.

Since the incident, Aiden has refused to go to the movies, although his mother has suggested it many times. It reminds her of how Aiden begged her not to go to Gymboree classes anymore because it was too uncomfortable.

Moving forward, Matthews hopes the community can learn from this incident.

“What I’d like to see is less judgement for parents and their autistic kids, and I’m hoping that more companies and business would have more sensitivity and awareness,” she said.