Mum 'kicked off bus' because autistic five-year-old son was singing

A mum claims she was kicked off a bus because her five-year-old autistic son was singing and annoying the driver.

Amanda Little and her son Paul, who has an autism spectrum disorder, took the Arriva bus into central Colchester, Essex, for an optician's appointment earlier in October.

However, the 30-year-old carer claims that after Paul had sang a number of nursery rhyme's verses, the driver slammed on the brakes and demanded they got off the vehicle because he 'couldn't concentrate'.

The duo had to allegedly make their way off the bus in front of other passengers, where they were left 'stranded' at the wrong stop, making them late for their appointment.

It was only after relaying the ordeal to her family that the mum realised how upset she was by it and lodged a formal complaint to the driver's bus company, who confirmed they have launched an investigation.

“He was sat at the back of the bus where he always goes,” Amanda said about her son’s position on the bus.

"Suddenly he just started singing. The song was 'The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round'.

"All of a sudden, four stops later, the bus just suddenly stopped.

"The bus driver said 'the lady at the back of the bus with the little boy, get off the bus please.'

"When the bus driver kicked us off he just sounded p**sed off really.”

Amanda said they were stranded about 20 or 30 minutes from the nearest town and they ended up being five minutes late for their appointment.

Paul was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in February 2016, and Amanda says singing and repetition are things Paul enjoys doing.

"My son can say a few words but he has slow speech development. He can do things like write his name and he has difficulty talking, but he can count to 160,” Amanda said.

"He's a very quiet child and he was being quiet on that day. Plus you could hardly hear him at the back.”

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Amanda thinks maybe the sound echoed through the bus and that’s why the driver got so annoyed.

She complained to the Arriva website the same day after sharing the details of the ordeal on social media.

"To try and see it from [the driver's] point of view, I suppose if there was somebody screaming then that would be an issue – but it was just a little boy singing,” she said.

"My son didn't understand what had happened at the time but when I explained to him exactly what had happened he was angry too.

"I rang Arriva to complain but the company was closed at the weekend, so I complained on the website. I'm just fuming."

An Arriva spokesperson said: "We are committed to providing passengers with the best possible service and have been working with local bus user groups and Essex County Council to help improve bus travel for everyone in the area.

"Now that our attention has been drawn to this complaint, we will investigate it thoroughly and, if warranted, take appropriate action."

Words by Caters News

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