By Nicole June
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The mother of a child with autism is grateful to a handful of local movie theater employees who made sure the force was with them during the premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Thursday night in Clarksville.
Tip Nichols said she purchased tickets for an early showing of the film at Regal Clarksville Stadium 16 for herself and her 11-year-old son, Max, who has autism.
She called the theater ahead of time to find out the best time to arrive to avoid long lines, which are hard for Max to handle.
The box office employee, Zach, told Nichols to arrive around 6:30 p.m. when most of the patrons would already be seated.
When they arrived, however, they discovered that many of the seats were being saved and they would be forced to sit separately.
“You just can’t have an 11-year-old autistic child sitting by themselves in a movie next to strangers. It just doesn’t work,” Nichols said.
She spoke to a manager named Barry, who told Nichols she and her son could come back for a later showing of the film at 9:30 p.m.
Barry said they would be allowed in the theater around 8 p.m. before the rest of the ticket holders to make sure they could be comfortably seated and prepared.
When they arrived, another employee named Max (just like her son) personally escorted them to the theater and made sure they had what they needed.
Nichols said she was very appreciative of the employees’ efforts.
“Honestly I can’t thank them enough,” she said. “It was a fabulous time and Regal went out of their way. It was such a chaotic night and they had so much going on. They didn’t have to do that, but it was really just something special.”
Tip said Max loved the movie and enjoyed the special treat.