In the last five months, a lot of stories about anti-mask tirades have hit the headlines. Last month, a woman was dubbed "Costco Karen" after she refused to wear a mask inside a Las Vegas Costco and threw a temper tantrum caught on camera. In June, a woman in California pulled a similar stunt in Trader Joe's. But this week, another kind of mask story is making headlines — this time, with a twist. According to ABC 13, a Texas mother claims she and her two small children were kicked off a Southwest airlines flight because her 3-year-old with autism refused to wear a mask.
The incident reportedly happened Monday, when the family was attempting to fly home to Houston from Midland, Texas.
The mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said she had just spent a week in Midland visiting family and was preparing to settle in for the short flight home.
"We're getting close to the runway," she told ABC 13. "They're going over the security safety features and all that, and the flight attendant walks by and tells me that he has to put a mask on. So, I try to put the mask on him. He is 3 and has autism and sensory processing disorders, so he wouldn't keep the mask on."
The struggle of keeping a mask on a toddler has become a familiar one to parents everywhere.
For parents of children with special needs, however, it can be particularly difficult to deal with in public. Still, the mother never could have expected what she says happened next.
Within minutes, the flight attendant alerted the captain, who then asked her son to put the mask on again.
It didn't work, and before she knew it, they plane was returning to the gate.
Southwest Airlines tightened its face mask requirements just last month.
So did American Airlines, which remains one of the largest domestic carriers in the US. In both cases, the airlines announced that they would no longer be making face mask exceptions for passengers with medical exemptions.
On Southwest, the only passengers who can board a plane without a mask are children younger than 2 -- so because the boy was 3, he had to comply.
Speaking with ABC News, the mom said she completely understands why the face mask mandate is in place and certainly wasn't trying to be difficult or skirt the rules.
"I agree with the mask policy," she said. "I wear my mask everywhere I go."
Still, she believes that given the circumstances, flight staff should have been more understanding. On her flight to Midland the previous week, flight staff had no issues with her son not wearing a mask, she said.
"It's not an issue, but you've got to have some kind of exemption, especially for people with disabilities, [and] kids with disabilities," she continued. "I mean, no 3-year-old, who is autistic and has sensory processing disorder, is going to put anything on their face. He's supposed to wear glasses. I can't even get him to wear his glasses to help him see. He just doesn't understand. He doesn't like things touching his face, so he's not going to put a mask on."
As news of the story swept social media, it received mixed reactions.
A lot of people had compassion for the mother.
"This is sad," wrote one Facebook user. "I definitely feel for this mom. Unfortunately, we can't travel now for multiple reasons … autism is not a one-size fits all disability. It impacts each individual differently."
"I wish SPD was recognized like autism is," someone else added. "Poor 3-year-old — I completely understand why he wasn't able to keep mask on."
"It is very hard to keep a mask on a 3-year-old," another person wrote. "It's hard enough to get them to sit down for 30 minutes. That's with any normal kid. You wouldn't know if you never had a child. It's even more daunting for parents with special needs."
Others said that as difficult as the situation is, the flight staff had to think about the rest of all of the passengers -- not just one.
"I am very sad for the child and family, but unfortunately the safety of everyone on that flight must be considered," one person wrote. "It's not just about the needs of the one. The parents should understand this."
"She should have explored those rules before boarding with a child with special needs," wrote someone else. "There is some fault on both sides."
As the story has begun to make headlines, Southwest Airlines has issued an official response.
It seems the company stands firmly by the actions of the flight staff, because of the safety risks facing everyone on board.
The statement read:
"Southwest Airlines requires all Customers over the age of two to wear a face covering or mask while traveling to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19. We communicate this policy to all Customers at multiple touch points throughout the travel journey, so we regret any inconvenience this family experienced. Customers are informed of the policy on our website during booking, in a pre-trip email sent prior to departure, and during a required acknowledgement that's part of the Customer Health Declaration Form which appears during the online check-in process on the Southwest app, Southwest.com, and Southwest's mobile website.
"If a Customer is unable to wear a face covering for any reason, Southwest regrets that we are unable to transport the individual. In those cases, we will issue a full refund and hope to welcome the Customers onboard in the future, if public health guidance regarding face coverings changes.
"At Southwest, safety and caring for others with our Southwest Hearts is at the center of everything that we do-which is especially important during this pandemic. We appreciate the ongoing support and spirit of cooperation among our Customers and Employees as we collectively take care of each other while striving to prevent the spread of COVID-19."
It's unclear what the mom's reaction was after reading the airline's response, but it certainly does underscore how serious the pandemic has become.
To date, more than 170,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, and more than 5.22 million cases have been reported.
In the mother's home state of Texas, health officials have watched the virus surge at particularly alarming rates in the last two months. As of Thursday, the state has reported 530,000 confirmed cases and just under 10,000 deaths, with Gov. Greg Abbott announcing that officials are "investigating" the state's high positivity rate.
