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Hartland Midwest Twisters Down syndrome discrimination allegations
Hartland Midwest Twisters is promising changes after a Pewaukee mom says they discriminated against her 6-year-old daughter with Down syndrome, telling her they didn't have the staff to let the child take a tumbling class.
HARTLAND, Wis. - A Pewaukee mom says a Hartland gymnastics studio discriminated against her daughter because she has Down syndrome. She was told Midwest Twisters Hartland didn't have the staff to let her 6-year-old take a tumbling class.
FOX6 News spoke with both the owner and director of Midwest Twisters Hartland over the phone Thursday, June 16. They said what happened is not who they are, and they will be addressing this with staff ASAP.
Sloane, 6, has a lot of energy.
"She’s super active, and being summer, she just needs so many activities to run around and get all that energy out," said Danielle Vickers, Sloane's mom.
Sloane's moves prompted Vickers to give Midwest Twisters Hartland a call. She left a message, wanting to sign Sloane up for a class.
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"I happen to mention on the voicemail that she had Down syndrome," said Vickers. "I was just curious to see if anyone there had ever worked with kids with Down syndrome or special needs."
A few days later, they returned her call and left this voicemail:
"I did speak to the director of recreational programs, and based on the fact that we have a very young staff, and basically, inexperience handling children with any type of special needs, right now is not a good time. It’s just, we feel we would need to put an extra coach on that class, and we just don’t have the number of bodies available to do that. Maybe check back after summer and see if there is an option, but at this time, we’re just not staffed appropriately for taking any children with special needs."
"It was a true gut-punch when I heard that," said Vickers.
Vickers said she consulted with Disability Rights Wisconsin and filed a complaint with the Justice Department Thursday. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in businesses that are generally open to the public.
Vickers said her issue is that they told her no without knowing what her daughter is capable of.
"For all intents and purposes, Sloane is just a typical 6-year-old who just happens to have a third copy of the chromosome," said Vickers.
Vickers said after she got that voicemail, she spoke with a manager on the phone who again told her they couldn't accommodate her daughter due to staffing.
After FOX6 called Thursday night, both the owner and director said they would be giving her a call back and would welcome her daughter at their gym. They said they've worked with children with special needs many times before.