The parents of a four-year-old girl with cerebral palsy are planning to file a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal after being told by a local indoor playground that their daughter could not use the space because she would violate their "socks only" policy.

Abigail Eloise Dupuis uses braces with running shoes to help with her mobility. She and her family have visited the Funmazing Playcentre in Guelph many times, but on Saturday, they were told by staff that Eloise would not be allowed to play on the main play structure unless she was only wearing socks.

Dupuis needs to wear her indoor shoes to hold her ankle and leg braces, but Funmazing say their socks-only rule applies to all kids.

Eloise's father, Matt Dupuis, told the playground staff that wasn't acceptable, and that excluding Eloise from the play structure would leave her feeling isolated.They decided to go to another indoor playground instead, where they were allowed in without incident.

But Dupuis was still angry and posted about their experience on Facebook – a post that has been shared more than 4,500 times.

Eloise's mother, Tracy Dupuis, says she's glad to see that others are as upset as she is.

"I'm glad that the word is getting out there," she told CTV Kitchener. "I don't think that, in 2015, that this is acceptable behaviour to businesses, especially to turn away a little girl that we wanted to go and play."

Funmazing was quick to release a public statement defending its policy. The facility says that the centre has always accommodated children with disabilities, and that Eloise was never denied entrance to their play area. But they say their policy against wearing shoes on the structures is one about safety.

"We always have to act in the interest of safety. Not just the safety of his daughter, but the safety of everyone," they wrote on their own Facebook page.

The play centre says is it an industry-wide rule that play structures be socks-only. What's more, they write, the manufacturer of the play structure recommends its structures be used only with socks.

"We are consulting with the play structure manufacturer to review the safety concerns of using shoes within the play structure, as they recommend it only be accessed with socks," they write.

The play centre also says it's also consulting with KidsAbility, an organization that advocates for children with disabilities, which they say regularly refers children with disabilities to their facility.

"We have reached out to both KidsAbility and the play structure manufacturer. Our sincere hope is that by working together, we can come up with a long-term solution for all children," they write.

The Dupuis family, meanwhile, says it seems to them this incident may be covered by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and they are considering filing a formal complaint to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.

Eloise's dad, Matt Dupuis, says he's touched that so many people are responding to their story.

"I was feeling very sad after what transpired. So just to have all that support of the last 24 hours made me feel a lot better and not alone," he said.

With a report from CTV Kitchener's Nadia Matos