Changing room provisions for disabled child with opposite sex carer

[irnbruforlife]

Anyone want to guide me on this. I have a family membership to a local gym and swimming pool. There are two communal changing rooms for the pool, one for men and one for women. Ds is 8 and autistic. He is fairly high functioning (unless he has a meltdown most nt people wouldnt realise he was autistic). He is unable to get get showered, dried and dressed himself after swimming by himself afterwards and so up until now he has always came in the ladies changing room with me. However he is getting older and I daresay its not fair on other women who use the facilities. Does the hotel have to provide a reasonable alternative?

They don't have any disabled facilities?

There is a bit of a myth that disabled toilets are only for disabled people (not helped by RADAR keys). Those are toilets for everyone but have disabled provision (and should perhaps offer priority but not exclusive use). The same should apply to your swimming pool - place for anyone who wants to avoid communal changing

I would explain to the staff and ask their advice. There is probably a disabled changing area that you can justifiably use.

Its a hotel with its pool and gym on the ground floor. No additional disabled toilets. There may well be disability toilets on the first floor in the hotel but this is a separate area to the gym/pool. There is a small toilet cubicle in the womens changing room and i assume the same for the mens. Ds doesnt have a problem getting naked in front of anyone or with other peoples nakedness (but im worried hes getting to an age where he will start pointing it out, not in a sexual way but more of a factual way, as in mum i can see that ladies boobs) but he is tall for his age and i figure other women may well have an issue with getting naked in front of him. Have asked once before and was told it was fine for him to continue using the ladies with me, but I think (a) this was just an easy answer for them without having to do any work and (b) doesnt really take into account my concerns.

Sorry meant to also clarify, no additional disability changing rooms or toilets on the ground floor.

I'd talk to them about it - but as it's a hotel they probably don't cater primarily for a walk-in market, even if they offer this

8 is still young...I wouldn't have sent my nt ds into the men's changing room when he was 8. I know that's an unpopular opinion on here but I don't think it's safe. However, I guess this will be an on going issue for you as the years go by.

Does the female changing have individual cubicles? Could you use them for now?

Moving forward several years, perhaps you will need to find another place to take him with more appropriate facilities.

We chose our gym based on the facilities they had on offer for mixed sex changing. We visited a few before I found what we needed.

It is frustrating when disabled facilities are within a single sex area.

no individual cubicles or we would use that. Have just spoken to a disability rights person on the phone and the bottom line is that as it is a private business there is nothing to be done sadly. I guess I will just keep on using the ladies with him until we are no longer allowed to. Not ideal.