Boy with Down syndrome center of YMCA lawsuit

MIDDLETOWN – A mother is suing the Great Miami Valley YMCA, claiming the organization violated state and federal laws by discriminating against her 6-year-old son because he has Down syndrome.

Like a lot of parents, Denise Watts wanted her son Steven to attend summer camp this year. But Watts alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday the YMCA would not let him attend the camp he wanted and instead suggested a summer camp for children with disabilities.

"He's never responded well to special needs environments," Watts told The Enquirer.

Steven attends Miller Ridge School in Middletown and recently finished kindergarten. He blossomed when given freedom to be around other kids his age but "shut down" when placed around children with disabilities, Watts said.

YMCA officials at the association's Hamilton headquarters declined to comment for this story. They instead deferred to their lawyer, who said he was "surprised and disappointed" to learn of the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. The association has six branches across Butler County, plus a camp in St. Clair Township.

"All of the actions taken by the YMCA toward Ms. Watts' child were taken with the well-being of the child and others as the primary consideration," said lawyer Curtis Cornett in a prepared statement.

"The YMCA has at all times acted lawfully and compassionately in its care of Ms. Watts' child, and ... the YMCA has provided numerous accommodations to her child (and will continue to do so regardless of the filing of today's lawsuit)."

The 46-year-old mother remembers a school field trip he took in March. Steven was in line for a tire swing. No one hesitated when other children in front of him climbed up and stood on the rubber tire as adults swung them around.

But teachers and staff didn't think Steven, who turns 7 years old in August, could do it.

"Is he going to sit down?" they skeptically asked Watts.

Sure enough, Steven stood up on the swing. It was a proud moment for mom and an exhilarating one for Steven.

What later made Watts cry was the feeling that if she wasn't there, he never would have been allowed to try.

"I never want him to be afraid of trying something. If he falls, he falls," Watts said. "But if you give him a chance, he's just like the other kids."

Cornett pointed out Watts recently registered Steven for the other camp aimed at children with disabilities.

Watts said she did so because she needs time to look for a job. She previously worked for the YMCA, but was fired in March for violating the organization's social media policy in a Facebook comment defending her son, she said.

"It's dehumanizing," Watts said. "It never felt like they took me seriously as a parent because I worked there."

The lawsuit filed Monday accuses the organization of violating the federal American with Disabilities Act and the federal Rehabilitation Act as well Ohio law by refusing to make making "reasonable accommodations" for Steven.

Watts said Steven wandered away from YMCA workers in 2012 and was unsupervised for 18 minutes. When she found out, she called a state agency because she didn't want him to get kicked out of the program.

As a result, funding from the United Way was cut and the YMCA has "retaliated against (Steven) by significantly limiting his participation in the YMCA's programs," according to the lawsuit.

They've also implemented a "three strikes and you're out" policy, Watts said.

"If the YMCA believes that (Steven) has violated a rule, even if his behavior is related to his disability, the YMCA will first suspend (Steven) and then fully terminate (Steven) from its before and after school programs," the lawsuit states.

Steven has already been suspended, and Watts believes officials are holding this policy over her head.

"Now he's got that label on him. Kids get suspended when they are bad," Watts said. "He's not bad, he's busy."

The lawsuit argues YMCA officials refused to train its staff to help Steven and, because of this, "cannot be permitted to blame (Steven) for the YMCA's own culpable conduct."

Instead of hiring a behavioral expert to assess Steven and determine if he presents too many challenges for staff in a typical summer camp, they did nothing, said Richard Ganulin, the lawyer representing Watts.

"This did not come out of the blue. They basically dared us to sue," said Ganulin,. "Our only other recourse was to live with it and we aren't going to just live with it."

Ganulin is asking the court to order the YMCA to make accommodations for Steven and allow him to participate in summer camp, as well as punitive and compensatory damages.