Woman Rents Theater After Friend's Autistic Son is Ostracized by Crowd: Christians Should 'Love Our Neighbors'

By Sami K. Martin, Christian Post Reporter Friday, March 21, 2014

Emily Colson wanted to take her son Max to see a new movie at the theater in January, but what she didn't expect was the theater crowd's reaction to Max. Now she is going public with her story in order to bring awareness to those with autism and hoping that her story will inspire more kindness among those who encounter those with autism.

"Don't worry if Max gets anxious in the beginning of the movie," Emily told her step-mom Patty, who had joined Emily and son Max at the Duxbury, Mass. theater. "He needs a few minutes to adjust, and then he loves it."

However, Max did not readily adjust to the movie and during a preview yelled out, "I want to go home!" Emily did her best to comfort Max, who is autistic, and soon Max relaxed and began to enjoy seeing his favorite characters on the big screen.

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"The Muppet movie!" Max yelled. "And Fozzy Bear!"

But then the screen changed again, and Max became upset. His actions bothered those around him, who began pestering Emily.

"Are you going to make him be quiet?" a neighboring person asked.

"He is autistic and…" replied Patty.

"I know he is," the woman responded. "But why should the rest of us have to suffer?"

The woman's husband joined the argument and threatened to call the manager if Max did not get quiet. The family then decided to leave, and as they did, the crowd in the theater began to clap and cheer. Emily wrote on her blog that she was reminded that God sent his son to bring "healing for our utterly disabled souls," that he sent Jesus to "save us from ourselves and bring light in our darkness."

Months later, Renee Walston, who attends the same church as Emily and Max, decided to rent out a local theater in Massachusetts specifically for Max and for other children with special needs. She said that she could not imagine what Emily went through and wanted to do something for others.

"As Christians, we're supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves," Walston told The Patriot Ledger. "I just thought that if it were my child, I would have to find a way to make this right for him."

"It has generated a huge amount of conversation about our families in the community, and I'm so thankful for that," Emily said.

There are close to 300 people attending "Movie with Max," showing just how much need there is in the community.