Theme park worker praised for compassionate reaction to autistic boy’s ‘meltdown’

Boy’s mother says theme park worker was ‘amazing’

When a young autistic boy visiting Universal Orlando Resort had an “autistic meltdown”, a theme park employee reacted in the most compassionate way imaginable.

Lenore Koppelman was attending a conference in Florida and she, her husband, and her son Ralph decided to visit Universal Orlando Resort.

Ralph, a 9-year-old boy who she describes as “awesomely autistic”, was looking forward to riding one specific ride at the amusement park: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride at Islands of Adventure.

After a few hours through the park, the family finally reached the Spiderman ride, only to find out it was being closed for the day due to malfunctions, and Ralph was upset.

In a Facebook post recounting the events, Ms Koppelman wrote: “My husband and I know the signs. We could see it coming, like an oncoming train. And yet we couldn’t dodge out of the way. There was nowhere else to go...The autistic meltdown was GOING to HAPPEN. And happen it DID.”

Ralph began to have an autistic meltdown, in which he was “sobbing, screaming, rocking, hyperventilating, and truly struggling to breathe” on the ground. His mother was trying to get Ralph up safely when an employee named Jennifer Whelchel came over to try and soothe him.

“Jen” told Ms Koppelman that Ralph could stay exactly where he was, and laid down next to the young boy.

Ms Koppelman wrote: “She rested next to him while he cried his heart out, and she helped him breathe again. She spoke to him so calmly, and while he screamed and sobbed, she gently kept encouraging him to let it all out.”

Ms Whelchel told passersby to kindly not take pictures of Ralph and to not stop and stare. After Ralph was able to calm down, Ms Whelchel arranged for him to pick a free gift from the Spiderman store.

“That’s not the first time I’ve done that and it’s most definitely not the last,” Ms Whelchel said, according to the Washington Post.

Ms Koppelman said that Ms Whelchel was “amazing” and both the family and Ms Whelchel have received kind messages of support. The Koppelman family was offered free VIP park tickets for the next time they’re in Orlando.

Ms Koppelman finished her post: “A message to all of the people who work at Universal Studios: Please read this and know that my family and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I know Ralphie does too. THANK YOU for recognising that Ralphie is a GREAT kid. A SWEET kid who just struggles with certain things (as we ALL do, neurodiverse or not). THANK YOU for treating him with SO much kindness and patience. THANK YOU to your supervisors and whomever trained you so well. THANK YOU for paying such close attention.”

“THANK YOU for BEING THERE for us today, and for making us feel like Ralph’s well-being was your top priority. He is OUR top priority because we love him more than ANYTHING and ANYONE, but you all only just met him today. And yet you behaved as if you were family. And we TRULY cannot thank you enough.”