Deafblind Teenager Molly Watt Barred From School's Lunch Hall Because Of Guide Dog

Guide Dog

Huffington Post UK   First Posted: 12/12/11 11:04 GMT Updated: 12/12/11 16:03 GMT

A deaf teenager who is also slowly going blind has stopped going to school after being isolated from her friends when she was banned from the lunch hall because of her guide dog.

Molly Watt, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, was forced to have lunch on her own because a fellow pupil is allergic to her black Labrador Unis, the Maidenhead Advertiser reported.

The 17-year-old, who said she is suffering from depression over the incident, has been told by her GP she could not return to Mary Hare School for the Deaf in Newbury because of the stress it is causing her.

According to the local paper, the dog is banned from the dining hall as there is another pupil who could have an anaphylactic allergic reaction if he came into contact with the guide dog. But, according to Molly's mother, Jane, there has been no up-to-date medical evidence to support the claim.

"She doesn't deserve what is happening to her," the 46-year-old said. "They are totally ignoring Molly's needs as a human being."

Principal Tony Shaw said he and the school had been misrepresented.

He told the Advertiser "everybody involved wished the situation could be different".

"It is heartbreaking for them and us but Mary Hare has not been the arbiter of the situation."

The Maidenhead mother said Molly's suggestion to compromise by having half of the week in the lunch hall was dismissed. A petition to champion Molly's cause has already been signed by more than a thousand people.

Molly was named Young Deafblind Person of the Year 2010 by the charity Sense and was nominated to carry the Olympic flame. The teenager, who has Usher Syndrom type two, has been "deprived of her A-levels", according to her mother. Molly was born deaf and diagnosed with a progressive eye condition at age 12 which causes night and glare blindness and tunnel vision.

On her website, she describes her dog as "my eyes, my safety, my best friend" and her blindness as "my most hated disability, the condition that has deprived me of the most".

"I feel terrible to confess the isolation I felt at school since having my gorgeous friend [Unis] led me to consider handing her back to Guidedogs as I struggled with being singled out the way I was", she continues.

"I can do nothing about my blindness but I can stand up for my rights and I have found an inner strength to do so."

CORRECTION: The article previously stated Molly was blind and slowly going deaf but this has now been corrected to deaf and slowly going blind.
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A deaf teenager who is also slowly going blind has stopped going to school after being isolated from her friends when she was banned from the lunch hall because of her guide dog. Molly Watt, from M...
A deaf teenager who is also slowly going blind has stopped going to school after being isolated from her friends when she was banned from the lunch hall because of her guide dog. Molly Watt, from M...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Kevin Mcilroy
03:50 PM on 12/14/2011
If you read about this case elsewhere you will see that the school have had to come up with a solution and that solution is to bar the dog from two rooms in the school in order to protect the life of the other student. It is unfortunate that one of the rooms is a social area but it doesn't mean that Molly is prevented from being with others at other times. It is not possible to share the room as hairs will remain in the area and cause a reaction

On the other hand the student who is allergic to the dog must realise that there is no way that they can go through life and be guaranteed not to come into contact with dogs or their hair. She could get into a taxi, train or bus that had carried a dog - will they forever travel in their own car?

I believe that the school has tried to be even handed but the view in the article is very one sided
05:49 PM on 12/13/2011
I worked in a disability rights organization, one staff person could not tolerate the cold and one could not tolerate the office warm. People who want to work on a solution usually can. The school might have air quality issues that could effect many more students not just those significant allergic disabilities, it is hard to tell by just this story. But yes, I can imagine the dog being a very important link in the student with disabilities life.

Schools might find a more favorable public attitude if they focused on educating all students and showed the need for more support to do it rather than rationing.
12:50 PM on 12/13/2011
I too suffer from allergies, but there is no way I would put my problems before those of another more needy than myself.
The school needs "it's Head" looking at.
10:46 AM on 12/13/2011
While I feel sorry for the young person but if you are one with the allergy, then it is you who should stay away from the lunch room. Even restaurants are not permitted by law to refuse entry to an assist dog so I would think this schools action may have repercussions.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ppenguinator
Life's too imprtant to be taken seriously.
10:25 PM on 12/12/2011
It's a lose-lose situation. One needs a dog, the other can't go near dogs.
05:00 PM on 12/12/2011
Unbelievable, whoever made the decision to not allow this lass in without her guide dog needs to find a career more suited to them.
03:54 PM on 12/12/2011
Good luck getting this sorted honey, discrimination in what is meant to be an understanding school for deaf students but they can't deal with understanding the laws surrounding the DDA xxx