The free-market system, as we've all seen lately, has its drawbacks. But at its best, it can be a model for problem-solving.

A story in this week's edition is a case in point. It all started when Meghan Ross, of Elkridge, now 9 years old, got kicked out of a movie for flapping her arms and jumping during a film.

Afterward, the autistic girl's mother, Marianne Ross, called management at the Columbia AMC theater to suggest special screenings for children with autism and other conditions -- Tourette's syndrome or attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, for example -- that make them prone to overstimulation and resulting outbursts that could disturb most movie audiences.

The theater took her up on the idea and since November 2007 has held "sensory-friendly" showings in which soundtrack volume is kept lower than normal, house lights remain on and audience members can get up and walk around without disturbing others.

The idea has worked so well that 67 AMC locations now stage similar monthly events, and the multiplex chain has just announced a formal partnership with the Autism Society of America.

No government had to step in to make this happen. Local management tried something that combined niche marketing and public relations, and the corporation has taken the experiment and run with it. The result appears to be a win-win scenario for the theaters, the kids and their parents, not to mention ordinary theater-goers.

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