The Foorce

I am a member at CMOM with 3 children, ages 10, 2 and 8 months. I bring my younger two children regularly to your museum and they always have a wonderful time. My 10 yr old is disabled, however, and we have run into several issues when we bring him. Often times, the hours after school that he is available to come are incredibly noisy and crowded, and this is very overwhelming for him on many levels (he is physically disabled, has sensory issues, PDD-NOS and ADD among other handicaps). (This visit, James would often be standing next to an exhibit with a) his hands over his ears or b) 3 and 4 yr old kids cutting in front of him because he was too nervous to say anything and the parent supervision was nil) Also, when he is playing with exhibits or activities geared toward younger ages (but appropriate for him mentally) he is often asked by other adults to step away or let the smaller children play, who obviously do not recognize that he is disabled. (this happened several times during Curious George by protective parents who looked disdainfully at James as he “hogged” a particular toy or display – by the third time I wanted to scream!*) In any case, this is sometimes upsetting to him and leaves me dragging him around the museum with little to do while his younger siblings get to have all of the fun.

I write a blog geared toward the NYC special needs community that has been growing over the past few months. Part of the site is dedicated to reviewing local activities, events and places that are enjoyable and appropriate for the special needs community. In an effort to be fair in my review of CMOM, I was wondering what you could tell me about any programs or special considerations you have given to disabled children that visit your museum.

Are there any hours set aside each month that give special access to disabled children?

Are there any classes or programs that are geared toward children with special needs – do classes in general accept children with disabilities?

Is there a discounted admission offered to families with special needs children who many not be able to stay for very long once they get into the museum and find out that it is too crowded for their child to play comfortably in any of the exhibits?

Is there a discounted rate for special needs playgroup reservations?

I would love to pass along any information you can share with me about your Accessibility Initiative, as well as any upcoming events that might be appropriate for special needs children. In the meantime, I plan to continue bringing my younger two children to enjoy your museum, and my older child when possible.

Response from David Rios, Manager of Community Outreach and Internships at CMOM:

I’m so happy to hear about your blog and your interests in CMOM’s efforts to welcome all families. At times the museum can feel overwhelming, but let me assure you that you are welcome to talk to our CMOM educators to see if there is anyway we can help in your visit. You may also ask for me as well.

CMOM makes an effort so that families and children can make the most of their experience in the Museum. One such effort was the development of the Guide for Families of Children with Disabilities. This guide was developed with an advisory board  to provide families with children with disabilities further opportunities for learning and development in PlayWorks™, as well as suggestions on bringing some of the dialogues and experiences home with them. The guide can be found in the PlayWorks™ exhibit in both English and Spanish. Families may also ask for a PDF copy such as the one I attached to this email.

CMOM, as you know, can get quite busy. In response , CMOM  has  decided to open on Mondays for the summer, providing an additional opportunity to come see our exhibits. While there is no set visitation pattern there are certain times when the museum is less busy.  For instance, we often tell families that we get our highest number of guests on rainy days. We also suggest coming during lunch time as many families leave the building between 11am and 2pm.  

We offer many programs for families to take part in on a regular basis and welcome all children to join. All of our family programs, guided tours, and enrollment classes are designed with a multisensory approach  aimed to address various learning styles. While we do not offer a discount to families with children with special needs, we offer discounted guided tours for schools or camp groups who may have children with disabilities.  

I hope my response addressed all your questions and I welcome you to email me with any further questions or concerns.

Hope to see you  at CMOM. All the best.

Let me start with the positives – David Rios was pleasant and responded within a week of my inquiry. He also provided me with a potential solution to the issues I mentioned: come during a less busy time, and gave me an example of a less busy time. Rios also sent a guide for disabled families for me to read and share. Click here for the attachment he mentioned in his email.

And of course, because I said “Let me start with the positives,” you knew where this was headed. I hate to say something negative about a place I frequent and that my children benefit from. Many of you know that I don’t walk around grumbling about all of the activities that James can’t participate in at local museums, but when you are coming up in search engines under “special needs children museum NYC” and when your own website says that you have made efforts to be accessible to all children, I have to admit that my expectations are slightly raised.

David Rios offered me a solution – come back during a less busy time, when it is not rainy – “many families leave the building between 11am and 2pm.” Well, that’s great, but as I mentioned my son is in school so that still does not provide any “slow” hours for him to come visit. I also think it’s kind of crummy that if you pay full admission (if you’re not a member) and your special needs child can’t handle the intense crowds and noise (you can’t always tell how crowded it is until you get further in), that you are not refunded or at least credited for another visit on a less crowded day.

Then there’s the guide. Click on it and look through it before reading this paragraph so that I don’t taint your opinion. It is very attractive and gives helpful things to ask about and do with your special needs child in the museum. You know the information and questions are for special needs children because there are pictures of special needs children in wheelchairs and leg braces throughout the guide. However, can anyone honestly tell me that the questions and activities wouldn’t also be totally appropriate for a typical child at the museum? Aside from the pictures, what is “special needs specific” about the guide for disabilities? Wouldn’t a more accurate description of this guide be “Guide For All Children Visiting CMOM (with photos of special needs children)?”

Man, I know that last paragraph sounds bitchy. I deleted and retyped a few sentences several times but in the end decided to leave it as is, because for now I am feeling more frustrated about the lack of accessibility and less worried about toe-stepping this evening (morning).

Come on, CMOM. You offer Target Free First Fridays every month from 5-8pm, free to anybody who wants to come and check out CMOM. Why not offer Special Hours for Special Kids from 5-8 on another night once a month (or 4 times a year!), and cap it to the first 100 disabled kids and their families to keep crowd-control down? It doesn’t even have to be free, I guarantee you will get eager special needs families vying for a spot in your museum during calm, quiet hours.

So if your child loves Curious George, definitely give CMOM a whirl. Despite my complaints there are actually lots of great things about CMOM – fun activities on every floor and a great little water exhibit outside.

If your special needs child loves Curious George, you might want to call ahead first and see what the crowd is like. On a sunny day. During lunch.

*Bold statements were not included in the original email