Non-verbal autistic boy, 9, is ordered to leave Cracker Barrel in Maryland by staff during school trip
A group of students with special needs were denied service at Cracker Barrel in Maryland, with the mother of an autistic boy expressing outrage after the restaurant’s manager told them not to return.
Stacey Campbell said her non-verbal son Jojo, 9, was refused a seat at the Waldorf restaurant on Tuesday, along with 10 other children with special needs.
Jojo was traveling with his school’s Community Based Instruction (CBI) program, which gives children with special needs the opportunity to go on field trips and participate in educational activities.
According to an email from a teacher, the children and the seven adults with them were denied entry to the Cracker Barrel even though they called ahead to confirm they did not need a reservation.
The email stated that the decision had nothing to do with the children’s behavior and that the manager had instructed the group not to return for future excursions.
‘So if you tell them to take us off the list, they are not welcome there. Why?’ Campbell said WJLA.
The restaurant only allowed the group to place a takeout order and had the students sit in the back of the eatery, where they waited for more than an hour, according to the teacher’s email.
“We brought the food back to the school and the students enjoyed their lunch and were so well behaved,” the statement said.
“However, I am disappointed with this experience and remain dismayed that this happened in a public setting.”
The email also noted that Cracker Barrel employees were very rude to the group.
Jojo, 9, was denied service at a Cracker Barrel on December 3 during a school trip with 10 other children with special needs
Jojo’s mother, Stacey Campbell, said these types of visits are very helpful for her son
The Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, Maryland, attributed the students’ experience to a staffing problem
The concerned mother shared the letter on social media to draw attention to the situation, prompting hundreds of comments.
‘I posted it for awareness. And again, that was even more true in my community of mothers and fathers who have children who cannot speak for themselves — who cannot stand up for themselves,” she told WJLA.
“These types of trips are extremely useful for them, or specifically for him, because it allows him to explore without all that white noise and all his senses being overloaded.”
Charles County Superintendent of Schools Maria Navarro defended her staff and the children and shared a public statement of her own.
In the letter, she said Cracker Barrel was told before the group’s arrival that the goal of the program is for children to “practice generalizing skills they learn in the classroom” before the group arrived.
“Our students and staff are our first priority, and we are disheartened to learn of the alleged treatment they received while participating in an activity designed to educate our students using real-world applications,” wrote Navarro.
Cracker Barrel attributed the students’ experience to a staffing issue.
The program is designed to help children with special needs practice the skills they learn in the classroom in the real world
Campbell said she doesn’t believe Cracker Barrel’s excuse for denying service to the children and staff
In a statement, a company representative said: “A staffing challenge that day led to the closure of part of our second dining room, causing confusion that impacted the group’s experience.”
But Campbell and the other parents involved are still skeptical.
“I don’t believe the excuse they’re giving,” she told WJLA. “Myself, and my family, will not spend a cent supporting that establishment.”
The superintendent revealed that the student group has been contacted by other restaurants and businesses eager to host their group.