Parents outraged after shopping mall nail salon refuses to serve 14-year-old daughter born with rare disability
- Shiloh was born with open-lip bilateral schizophrenia.
- A 14-year-old boy is in a wheelchair and cannot speak
- Robina of Rainbow Nails on the Gold Coast refused to serve her
Parents and caregivers of a teenage girl suffering from a rare medical condition have lashed out at nail salons for refusing to do their nails “for people like her.”
Queensland couple Jade Mayberly Stenner and Darren Collier were furious when their daughter Shiloh was kicked out of a Gold Coast nail salon because of her disability.
Shiloh’s grandmother, Kim Maberly-Stenner, and support worker, Keya Woodland, took her to Robina Town Center’s Rainbow Nails in late December to get her nails done for Christmas. .
Shiloh (pictured) was born with open-lip bilateral schizophrenia, a very rare birth defect that causes clefts and fissures in the cerebral hemispheres.
A 14-year-old girl was taken to Rainbow Nails in Robina Town Center (pictured) by her grandmother and caregiver, but was denied service due to her disability.
A 14-year-old girl was born with bilateral cleft lip encephalopathy, a very rare birth defect that causes clefts and fissures in the cerebral hemispheres, “losing half her brain” and lives in a wheelchair.
“They essentially said, ‘We can’t do nails for someone like her.’
“They were like, ‘We’ve had complaints from people with disabilities in the past, so now it’s a company policy that we don’t deal with people with disabilities.'”
“It’s really infuriating. I can’t believe this is still happening in 2023.
Shiloh’s grandmother said she was “disgusted” by the legitimacy of nail salons and that her non-verbal granddaughter started crying because of the ordeal.
“I was shocked. I couldn’t believe someone actually said that,” Kim said.
“It was heartbreaking, it was just horrible, it was just awful. It made me cry, it made me so upset.”
Shiloh’s mother Jade Mayberly Stenner (pictured with Shiloh on another occasion getting her nails done) said the ordeal was “infuriating”
Shiloh’s support worker, Woodland, couldn’t understand the salon’s instructions and asked for clarification three times.
“I was completely overwhelmed. I was shocked. I didn’t understand what they were actually saying. It took me a while to figure it out,” Woodland said. told to
“I asked her again why she couldn’t do her nails, and she replied, ‘Because she has a disability and we don’t deal with people with disabilities.
“I asked her about three times if she could explain why, and she said, ‘My manager said no.’
Mr. Woodland told the workers that it was discrimination to refuse to cut Shiloh’s nails.
She believes companies need to be more educated on how to treat people with disabilities.
Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, it is illegal to discriminate against a person on the basis of his or her disability.
Shiloh’s caregiver explained to the nail salon that refusing a 14-year-old girl’s nails is discriminatory
Shiloh’s father, Darren, said he was “extremely upset” that an Australian company would discriminate against Shiloh’s daughter.
“The fact that a company has a policy that discriminates against people with disabilities in a first world country is very upsetting,” he said.
“I’m Latino myself and have experienced discrimination many times, so it’s really hard for my daughter to go through the same.”
Shiloh’s parents helped run a charity in Vietnam for orphans with disabilities and hope that the discrimination their daughter experienced does not happen to other disadvantaged children.
A Robina Town Center spokesperson told the Daily Mail that the complaint has been discussed with Rainbow Nails.
“The comfort and safety of the entire community is very important to us,” said Robina Town Center.
“We have reached out to the retailer and can confirm that we have discussed these concerns.”
Daily Mail Australia reached out to Rainbow Nails for comment.
Shiloh’s parents, Jade Maberly-Stenner and Darren Corea (pictured), want to prevent what happened to their daughter from happening to other children with disabilities.
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