[tryfuhl]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Agreed, kid has to be removed immediately in that instance.

The shame of it is that parents of autistic kids deal with those tantrums a lot more often than most parents. Given that an autism-spectrum disorder is diagnosed in approximately 1% of kids, chances are you've come across an autism-driven tantrum at some point in your life, whether at the grocery store or at a restaurant.

So it's important to remember not to come down too hard on the parent in that situation and give the benefit of the doubt. Now, if they don't take the kid out of the restaurant upon the onset of the tantrum, they should be removed by the restaurant management, autism or not. But it's important to be sensitive to that stuff. Parents of autistic kids often feel like they've been sentenced to a tough life as it is, they shouldn't feel like they're never allowed to go out to a restaurant.

Good point, probably more common than we realize.