A member of Clarks Shoes staff has been praised for helping a six-year-old boy with autism buy his school shoes in peace.
Gem Salter, from Ipswich in Suffolk, had taken her son to an outlet store to be measured for school shoes, but said the place incredibly busy.
Her son, River, really struggles with crowds, long queues and noisy places, so Salter explained her situation to a member of staff.
“I knew there was no way he would cope with that environment,” she wrote on Facebook.
“Without hesitation, the staff member, Aaran, led us away from the noise and crowds to a staff room and placed a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door.”
Aaron was very patient with Salter’s son and found him a variety of different shoes to try on.
“We left with a great pair of shoes and a very happy boy,” Salter said.
“Aaran also gave us the store number and said they’d happily book us an appointment [next time] before the store opens so that it’s quiet.
“Autism acceptance at it’s best.”
The Facebook post was shared on Clarks Shoes’ timeline on Tuesday 30 August and was shared nearly 40,000 within a week.
“Hi Gem, thanks so much for sharing this amazing feedback with us,” a spokesperson for Clarks Shoes replied on the post.
“Back to school is such a busy time for us and all of our teams are working really hard. We’re so happy to hear Aaran went above and beyond for you and River.
“We hope he enjoy’s his new shoes and best of luck for the new term at school.”
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