First trip to the movies

Studio Movie Grill here in Dallas is one of my favorite movie theaters.  It is a place where you can sit at a table or counter and order a meal while you watch your movie.  I love seeing movies there and I especially love the company because they do a “special needs screening” whenever a new kid movie comes out.  Usually, the second Saturday after the movie opens, they will have a showing at 11am for kids with special needs.  The kid with special needs and their siblings are free and anyone accompanying them is just $6.  During their special needs screening, they only lower the lights halfway and they bring the sounds levels down to help out kids with sensory defensiveness.  Also, the rules of civility are not as strictly enforced so that parents can feel less distraught if their child has a meltdown or can’t stay in their seat.  That says a lot about this company.  Any company that puts that much thought into the needs of their community and takes into account the financial stress of caring for a special needs child deserves my support.

But, we didn’t go to the special needs screening.  The schedule didn’t work out for us and Gray was looking mellow, so I decided to just go for it.

Actually, the decision wasn’t quite that simple.  I agonized a bit about making the right decision.  On one hand, I knew that I would feel comfortable in the special needs screening.  I knew that I wouldn’t have to apologize to anyone and our crazy crew would fit right in.  On the other hand, I considered the fact that Gray is not defensive against sensory stimuli.  He really enjoys stuff when it is loud and crazy.  I also considered the fact that we are getting pretty good at outings now.  Gray is clearly understanding that, when we go somewhere and there are chairs at a table, he should take a seat and remain there.  I didn’t know if I might risk him learning some bad movie etiquette or set up expectations of movies always being semi-lit with soft sounds.  I also didn’t know if the full-on movie experience might turn out so badly that he would develop an aversion to movies overall.

In the end, I decided that the risks were small and the possible payoff could be really big.  Lena is just getting to the age where she likes to go to the movies.  This was my shot to get a good rainy-day family activity on the menu for everyone to enjoy.  Here’s what I did to make the trip as successful as possible:

1. We went to the first showing of the day.  I figured that, special needs or not, anyone who is coming to this showing probably has young kids and does not expect perfect behavior.

2. This theater has reserved seating.  I purchased tickets at the counter on the aisle.  I figured a counter invites less squirming than a table and obviously the aisle allows for a fast getaway (just in case).

3. We arrived 10 minutes after the movie’s start time so that we missed the previews and were just taking our seats as the movie started.  I actually think Gray wouldn’t mind the previews, but I wanted to keep the sitting time to an absolute minimum.

4. I brought extra snacks in my purse to keep him busy until the real food could arrive.

5. I tied him to a 50-pound dog so he couldn’t rush the screen or climb over the seats to assault other movie-goers. -Very important detail!

All I can say is, it was miraculous.  I tried hard to keep my eyes on the screen so he would see what was expected.  About 5 minutes into the movie, he looked over at Zoe and Lena (who were both watching the screen) and he looked at me (pretending to be watching the screen), and then he did the same. He sat nicely in his chair and ate his snacks and watched the movie.  About 15 minutes before the end, he started playing with his iPad, and then he fell asleep on top of the iPad.  Works for me!

Bring on the rainy days…we are ready.