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Thrown off bus because he did not look disabled

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ASPartOfMe
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21 May 2018, 7:43 am

Autistic boy was thrown off a bus ‘because he didn’t look disabled’

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A teenager with autism was thrown off a bus because he didn’t look disabled, it was claimed. Connor McEndoor, 18, showed the driver his disability pass when he boarded on Thursday to go to college. However, his photo is four years old because he finds taking pictures stressful, so the driver refused to believe it was him. He took the pass off him accusing him of fraud, telling Connor he wasn’t disabled. Connor, who has speech and learning difficulties as well as suffering from memory loss and confusion, was left standing at the roadside. Arriva bus company says it’s looking into the incident ‘as a matter of urgency’ and has apologised to Connor and his family for any ‘distress and concern’ caused.


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neilson_wheels
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21 May 2018, 8:01 am

It sounds like this was very badly handled by the bus driver, but photo ID needs to have an accurate photo.
I can't help but notice the irony where there are two photos of the guy in the article and yet he claims he could not update his pass photo, as he finds having photos taken too stressful.



BeaArthur
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21 May 2018, 9:52 am

The ignorance about invisible disabilities is widespread. I have heard stories of people being harassed for parking in a disabled reserved spot, and being told "You don't look disabled." Maybe we need a different icon than a stylized wheelchair. There are multiple reasons why a person capable of walking could still be disabled enough to need preferred parking. Could be intense pain/arthritis, could be a breathing issue, etc.

I know this is not about parking, it's about challenging a bus pass, but the principle is the same. We need education about the broad range of conditions that can be disabling.


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kraftiekortie
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21 May 2018, 12:47 pm

Most disabled people don't "look" disabled.

One of the reasons why "inclusion" is a good thing---is because of all the friggin' abuses in Special Ed.



Raptor
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21 May 2018, 12:53 pm

neilson_wheels wrote:
It sounds like this was very badly handled by the bus driver, but photo ID needs to have an accurate photo.
I can't help but notice the irony where there are two photos of the guy in the article and yet he claims he could not update his pass photo, as he finds having photos taken too stressful.


That's pretty much what I thought, especially when there are disability scammers out there.


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EzraS
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21 May 2018, 8:29 pm

neilson_wheels wrote:
It sounds like this was very badly handled by the bus driver, but photo ID needs to have an accurate photo.
I can't help but notice the irony where there are two photos of the guy in the article and yet he claims he could not update his pass photo, as he finds having photos taken too stressful.


I completely agree with both statements.