Mom of Autistic Plaintiff In Lawsuit Testifies That Disney’s Disability Policy Is Not Effective
Yesterday we reported that Disney was having its day in court over changes to their Disability Policy that date back to 2013. A local family argues that eliminating the front-of-the-line access for visitors with special needs and moving to a Disability Access Pass (DAP) does not work for all guests. This has been the case for the Plaintiff’s who son has Autism and who prefers order and structure to things including his visits to the theme parks.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the mother(Donna Lorman) took to the stand to say that as a result of the change “her son stood frozen, blocking the line on the Jungle Cruise and not understanding why he had to wait 40 minutes instead of boarding immediately.” Her son, she argued, didn’t know the concept of time and became agitated over the policy change.
“I didn’t know what we were going to do,” said Lorman, an Orlando autism advocate who sued in 2014 after Disney changed the special front-of-the-line access to rides that it had long allowed for people with autism and other disabilities.
As we mentioned in yesterday’s article, Disney used to offer front-of-the-line access to visitors under a previous policy. However, this changed back in 2013 after it was revealed that guests were abusing the system.
Under the new system, Walt Disney World visitors must get a disabled access pass and make reservations for attractions. This means that guests must wait for their ride windows similar to Disney’s FastPass system.
Lorman argued that the system was a problem for her son who struggles with waiting and needs the structure of riding his favorite attractions on a set route through the parks.
According to the Orlando Sentinel Lorman was quoted as saying, “The need for sameness and routine is essential for keeping (him) grounded.” Lorman advised that her son follows a strict routine one that is at odds with Disney’s reformed system. However, Disney attorneys questioned Lorman’s account and disputed that her son always rode attractions in a specific order.
This is a story that we’ll continue to follow closely so keep following along with MickeyBlog for the latest updates regarding this and other breaking Disney news.
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Source: Orlando Sentinel