A furious mum claims Center Parcs left her son ‘heartbroken’ after banning him from the water rapids ‘because he’s autistic’. Kirsty Moyce and her family visited Center Parcs Sherwood Forest for a five-night holiday on May 26 and had been excited to use the Wild Water Rapids in the swimming pool area. The 36-year-old claims her son Fred, six, was left having a ‘meltdown’ when a lifeguard banned him from using the slide on their second day as ‘he’s not a strong swimmer’ despite using it the day before. Fred, who was diagnosed with autism in 2021, is non-verbal but his bridal boutique director mum says ‘the one thing he can do is swim’. She says he goes swimming every week but does so in an unorthodox technique due to his autism, which involves him doing ‘breaststroke with his head up constantly’. She claims the lifeguards’ inconsistencies speak to a ‘wider problem’ about the lack of understanding surrounding autism. Video footage shows Fred swimming in the Center Parcs pool with his dad Jonathan, 38, while keeping his head above water. After making a complaint to Center Parcs the mum-of-three was told the decision was final and Fred was unable to use the slide for the rest of the trip. Shaming the venue on social media, Kirsty claimed that she believes the reason her son had been stopped was because they ‘saw difference’ due to him having autism. Center Parcs said that their lifeguards believed Fred did not have the ‘necessary swimming ability to safely use the rapids’. However they apologised for the distress caused and said they would be reviewing the incident to ensure safety communications are as ‘clear and consistent as possible’ in future. Kirsty, who lives in Stratford-upon-Avon, West Midlands, said: “What upsets me the most is that I felt like my son wasn’t seen, he was just seen as a disability. He was ‘too disabled’ to experience the same thing as other children get to do. Fred is quite severely autistic. He can’t speak and he can’t communicate very well but the one thing he can do is swim. “The first thing we did was go swimming because that’s what we were excited to do and that’s what Fred wanted to do. We gave Fred a couple of runs in the standard pool just to check all was good with him. He went up on the rapids with his dad and loved it and went again. “On the second day we went again and as Fred went to swim up to the rapids the lifeguard stopped him. He said ‘no, he’s not a strong swimmer, he can’t swim’. That’s when my husband said ‘he’s autistic, this is his technique’. He swims using breaststroke with his head up constantly. “He was adamant he wasn’t allowed and at this point Fred was having a meltdown because he didn’t understand why other people were going past him. Fred pushed away from John and swam 15 metres around the centre island as if to say ‘hey look, I can swim’. “The lifeguard said ‘if you carry on arguing with me, I can get you all kicked out’. Other people were watching and so many people were in our defence but the lifeguard just wasn’t having it.” After taking it up with the manager, he reportedly told them he would have let Fred onto the first section of the slide if he had known about it. The parent believes that following the Parc’s logic it would make it negligence, since Fred had been allowed to use the slide on Monday – but she believes he wasn’t on Tuesday due to ‘discrimination’. Kirsty said: “I said [to the manager] ‘everyone assumes he’s not capable of doing anything, and then the one thing he can do and is told he can’t do, it’s so disheartening when you constantly fight every single day for his voice to be heard’. “He said ‘if it was me here, I’d have let him down the first part of the rapids because there’s a smoother part at the start’. So I said ‘well, why didn’t you?’ And he said ‘because you were all so angry and were not really letting me talk’. I said ‘maybe that’s because you were the third person to come over and tell my son he was incapable when that’s what people tell him all the time when this is something he is capable of’. “I think at that point he realised they’d made a bit of a mistake. Either they were negligent on Monday [for letting him on then] or discriminatory on Tuesday. Every lifeguard had inconsistency. Fred was so upset with all the arguing and everything going on. He was heartbroken. It affected his whole holiday. “Before we came here, we were watching videos of these rapids. We prepare him for things by showing him pictures and videos. He jumped with his excitement and clapped his hands. (Center Parcs) preach inclusivity but they were not linking with that.” Kirsty revealed she complained to Center Parcs but was told the decision still stood and that someone would contact her after the trip. The mum believes this speaks to a wider problem and encourages parents to ‘keep fighting’ for their child. Kirsty said: “The problem with autism is it’s just such a spectrum and people just don’t realise how differently certain children present. Every day we fight for him to do what every child can do. We actively go out to give him experiences like his neurotypical siblings so that he can access the world that is so not ready for children like him. “People are autism aware but they don’t understand autism. That’s where the grey area is. If you don’t understand it there’s no point in being aware. Just keep fighting and be your child’s voice. Don’t take no for an answer when you know what your child’s capable of. We have enough obstacles without others throwing new ones in the way.” A Center Parcs spokesperson said: “The Wild Water Rapids require a good level of swimming ability and endurance, due to its fast-flowing water, sharp turns, and sudden drops. The health and safety of our guests is our highest priority, and all decisions are made with this in mind. “Our qualified lifeguards assessed that the child did not meet the necessary swimming ability to safely use the rapids. We apologise for any distress caused and are reviewing the situation to ensure our safety communications are as clear and consistent as possible moving forward.”