Southwest Airlines boots family after toddler
with autism refuses to wear mask
by
David Meyer
Original Article
Posted By: ladydawgfan,
8/13/2020 11:44:22 PM
A Texas mom says Southwest Airlines kicked her off a flight from Midland to Houston after her 3-year-old autistic son refused to wear a mask.
“He is 3 and has autism and sensory processing disorders, so he wouldn’t keep the mask on,” Alyssa Sadler, of Houston, told ABC affiliate KTRK.
“They’re trying to talk to him, tell him, ‘You have to wear it. It’s not an option,’ and I’m trying to explain to them, you know, he doesn’t understand what you’re saying.”
The mom said her son “doesn’t like things touching his face.”
“He was screaming. He was throwing a fit. He was screaming no, no, no,” she told NBC Houston.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
zephyrgirl 8/13/2020 11:54:38 PM (No. 509242)
Sorry - I'm with Southwest on this one. The kid was screaming and creating a disturbance on the flight and was rightly booted off. Southwest has the right to require masks, and if the child won't wear one and causes a disturbance, Southwest is within its rights to remove him from the flight. Lots of parents think their little darlings should be exempt from the rules, but the rest of us should be able to have some peace and quiet when shut up in a plane.
20 people like this.
I thought children that young were exempt from the gestapo tactics.
15 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 8/14/2020 12:02:47 AM (No. 509247)
Mask Nazis... the mask protects us from those who HAVE the Wuhan virus. I seriously doubt if a child is a rabid carrier.
8 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Omen55 8/14/2020 12:03:20 AM (No. 509248)
ADA lawsuit.
13 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
stablemoney 8/14/2020 12:05:06 AM (No. 509250)
The mom said her child was autistic. Southwest and the virus doctors should try handling an autistic boy for a week. One size don't fit all. If the government made pants, we would all get a pair of 5X pants and a belt. I don't think Southwest or the virus doctors are winning many friends offending mothers.
9 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
jimincalif 8/14/2020 12:15:55 AM (No. 509260)
#1 must not have a child on the spectrum. I do, and this behavior is typical. You cannot reason with a child like that anymore than you can engage AOC in a calm, reasoned conversation about economics. Masks are dehumanizing us as a people. Combine this with officious bureaucrats, mindless zero-tolerance policies and media-induced fear over something akin to seasonal flu and we heading for a complete breakdown of what is left of civil society. I feel for the parents, and I hope they will end up owning SWA after an ADA lawsuit, if there is anything left to get in the wake of the Great Suppression and the airlines’ eventual bankruptcies.
15 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
LadyHen 8/14/2020 12:32:52 AM (No. 509267)
Preschool age children should all be exempt. You can't reason with a toddler. I know this as a mom of 2,one of which is a now 2 years old. Trying to keep a mask on a non-Autistic toddler would be hard. A child with sensory issues, especially those over stimulated by touch would be impossible. I hope they sue SWA into the ground for this. Someone needs to stand up to the mask bullies.
16 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
SALady 8/14/2020 12:53:12 AM (No. 509273)
I love Southwest Airlines, but this was a bad move on their part.
Even the CDC does not require, or even suggest, a 3-year-old child to wear a mask. It's far more dangerous for them to restrict their oxygen intake than anything the Coronavirus might do to them.
I'm sure Southwest Airlines will settle the impending lawsuit out of court (to avoid more bad PR), but it's going to cost them!!!
14 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Evocatus 8/14/2020 1:04:31 AM (No. 509276)
No one is owed an airplane flight. If you can't meet the requirements, you can't fly. The family solved the problem by driving. End of story.
16 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
DVC 8/14/2020 1:11:12 AM (No. 509282)
I'm with #1 on this one. I hate masks but if the company wants to require them - that is known in advance.
14 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Kowgirl 8/14/2020 1:17:17 AM (No. 509287)
I just checked ... it's only 315 miles from Midland TX to Austin TX. The mother knew her son's limitations so in these extraordinary times why didn't she just plan to drive in the first place?
15 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
bobn.t 8/14/2020 1:28:31 AM (No. 509292)
Typicsl of uneducated crews untrained to deal with various and unique social or health issues
3 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
kiwinews 8/14/2020 1:32:24 AM (No. 509293)
If the child in not able to manage the behavior necessary to fly, well I guess he just shouldn't fly. Now that's an inconvenient truth.
16 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
rfr46 8/14/2020 3:16:51 AM (No. 509334)
What No. 1 said.
5 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Strike3 8/14/2020 3:37:58 AM (No. 509340)
I also agree with the airline but what if the child happened to be of the preferred race, what would their actions have been? Not that it would affect me, I quit flying years ago due to idiots on flights that could not fit into seats and abused overhead luggage space, underseat space, etc. things that make even a short flight miserable. Airlines are great at selectively enforcing their many rules.
5 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
bigken2 8/14/2020 5:16:22 AM (No. 509367)
they have the right to demand mask and as a flyer i will tell them to take there bs and shove it i am boycotting flying till they stop this manure
6 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
ROLFNader 8/14/2020 8:33:51 AM (No. 509528)
This could have easily been handled if the mother had just told them that the child was gender confused.
2 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
msjena 8/14/2020 8:42:44 AM (No. 509551)
He was screaming because they were trying to make him wear a mask. I thought people with medical conditions were not required to wear masks. Shouldn't autism in a young child count?
3 people like this.
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Yet another reason to boycott Southwest Airlines and drive everywhere.