Jacqueline Laurita shared a heartbreaking story about her 8-year-old son Nicholas this weekend that has fans livid.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey alum claimed her son, who was diagnosed with autism in 2009, was asked to leave the Franklin Lakes Public Library because he was making “non-contextual vocals and tapping” on DVD cases.
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“He had a meltdown as I struggled to get him to leave,” the 47-year-old mom captioned her video post. “Not one person offered or tried to help or even opened the door for us. They just watched me struggle to get him out…as asked.”
In the clip, Nicholas can be heard making noises and pulling movies off the shelf while at the library.
“My heart hurt so bad for the both of us,” she continued. “The day before he had had such a great experience there. I wish everyone understood #Autism.” The Bravo personality added, “Time to go back and educate them!”
Her followers were deeply upset by the story.
“This is disgusting…thank you for sharing your story and spreading awareness,” one person wrote.
Another echoed, “What uneducated people.”
Laurita and her husband, Chris Laurita, also parent 15-year-old CJ. She also shares 26-year-old daughter Ashlee with ex Matt Holmes.
In February, Jacqueline revealed that when Nicholas was 18 months old, he began to regress when it came to developmental milestones.
“He stopped talking and singing, there was no eye contact, he wouldn’t answer to his name and he would spin in circles,” she told NorthJersey.com. “He couldn’t follow a one-step command.”
The couple contacted Generation Rescue, of which Jenny McCarthy is president, and the early intervention their family underwent made a big difference, she said.
“Every time I think progress is slow, I’ll look back to where he’s started and see how far he’s come,” Jacqueline told the website. “He’s saying a lot of words, his sentences are longer, he’s asking questions, he reads, he rides his bike again, and he loves Googling things on his iPad and playing DJ for us.”
The Lauritas are writing a book about their experience with autism.
