Mum praises Leeds restaurant for welcoming autistic son

Ellie Hansall says in the past people would "sit and stare" at Teddie in restaurants

A mum who has previously struggled to eat out with her autistic son has praised a restaurant for "going above and beyond" to help him.

Ellie Hansell's three-year-old son Teddie is unable to talk and taking him to restaurants can trigger meltdowns.

In the past staff and diners have assumed he is "acting like a brat" and not understood his condition, she said.

Ms Hansell said the owner of The Funky Indian in Pudsey "went out of his way" to help, even turning the music down.

The 23-year-old said: "As soon as he found out he had autism, he turned the music right down, he even asked permission if he could vacuum at the other side of the restaurant.

"He catered for all of my son's needs. He wasn't bothered about his mess, his meltdowns.

"He did everything and anything he could to make him comfortable," she said.

The family says The Funky Indian did everything possible to make them welcome

Ms Hansell said she had previous bad experiences taking Teddie out to eat and people's reactions had made her anxious.

"I've had whispers, nasty looks, people staring at him and me and it's really, really uncomfortable," she said.

"Staff don't make you feel comfortable either and there's been times Teddie has been having a meltdown that he's thrown himself on the floor and banged his head and no one has helped."

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Since Teddie's visit, The Funky Indian has announced it will be holding an afternoon for adults or children with special needs or disabilities on 14 May.

In a post on its Facebook page, the restaurant said: "There is no need to hide. Come out enjoy and don't worry about what others around you think."

Ms Hansell is calling on other hospitality venues to have the same welcoming approach.

She said: "Bigger chains should be on board with this but they're not.

"It feels like they're too bothered about thinking about other people than catering for families like mine."

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