Victoria Hable’s Son Rowen, 6, Who Has Down Syndrome and Autism, Came Home Upset From the Bus, and She Says He Rode in a Regular Seat Instead of His Five-Point Harness

Rowen, a 6-year-old in Philadelphia who has Down syndrome, speech apraxia and autism, was upset after an after-school bus ride on July 16 and clingier than usual when his mother arrived to collect him. Victoria Hable, 31, told Newsweek that bus footage she requested later showed he had not been secured in the five-point harness his education plan calls for. She shared what she learned on Instagram, and Newsweek reported her account on Oct. 28.

A call at 4:05 p.m. and a month of waiting for video

Rowen goes to a public elementary school five days a week, spending time in a first-grade classroom with neurotypical peers and in a life-skills classroom, Newsweek reported. The July 16 ride took him to an after-school care program, and the bus was operated by a third-party company, according to the outlet.

According to Hable, the after-school care facility Rowen attends phoned her at 4:05 p.m. after he arrived by bus. Newsweek did not name the bus company or the facility. Hable, who is studying for a master’s degree in social work, told the outlet she then asked for the transportation footage, which took about a month to arrive.

Rowen is largely non-verbal, Newsweek reported, and communicates with an augmentative communication device, sign language and gestures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that people with Down syndrome are often slower to learn to speak than other children.

What the footage showed, according to Hable

Hable said the video showed Rowen in a regular seat in the third row of a smaller bus because another student was sitting in his designated seat. In her words to Newsweek, “he was not in the five-point safety harness specified in his individualized education program.”

She described a ride of about an hour in which Rowen repeatedly got out of his seatbelt while other children told the driver and asked for help. Some of those children tried to buckle him back in, she said. She told Newsweek the driver did not call for assistance and that Rowen grew more distressed as the trip went on.

Hable also said Rowen threw items from his bag, which she described as a way he engages socially, and that he would normally not have access to the bag on a ride. By the end he had apparently fallen asleep unsecured, she said, and he stayed on the bus about 10 minutes after the other students got off. Staff found him asleep at the back of the bus without a seatbelt and barefoot, with his shoes left on the bus, according to her account.

Why a harness can be written into an education plan

The American Academy of Pediatrics addressed this kind of situation in its policy statement on school bus transportation of children with special health care needs, published in Pediatrics in 2018. It says the IEP team “should specify which equipment is required,” and it advises that children under 80 pounds who need harness support “should ride in a properly used CSRS,” short for child safety restraint system.

The same statement says school systems should provide a school nurse or trained aide when medically necessary and that bus staff “should participate in training programs annually.” It also calls for each child’s evacuation procedures to be written down, with at least one evacuation drill each school year. Behavior that threatens passenger safety, the statement says, should be addressed with behavioral interventions first and a restraint system if needed.

The federal approach to bus seating is different for most riders. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration explains that large school buses rely on compartmentalization instead of seat belts, while small school buses “must be equipped with lap or lap/shoulder belts at all designated seating positions.” Rowen’s ride took place on a smaller bus, according to Hable. The NHTSA page also calls the school bus one of the safest vehicles on the road.

A new vehicle, a permanent aide and a hope to rebuild trust

Hable told Newsweek that Rowen was not seriously injured, though she said the incident exposed potential safety issues. She added that she had never before truly feared for his safety while he was in someone else’s care.

Rowen was removed from the after-school facility. He now receives transportation through the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, a Norristown, Pennsylvania, agency that lists special education services and a pupil transportation program among its offerings. Hable said he rides in a different vehicle with a different driver and a permanent transportation aide, and he still attends the same public elementary school five days a week.

Video has played a similar role in another case of a Kentucky mom of a nonverbal autistic son, who turned to recorded footage to understand what her child was experiencing at school.

Newsweek said it contacted the transport provider for comment and did not include a reply. The school district’s response was not reported, and the district is not named in the article. Hable said she understands that people are tired and mistakes happen, but that accountability is necessary, and that she has faith trust with the district can be rebuilt.

Get stories like this by email. Sign up for The Parent Diaries Letter.

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Ktkvtsh – CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons