A Palatine mom is demanding answers after her 6-year-old verbal autistic son told her he was placed on the wrong school bus and then yelled at by the driver.
Kelly Murray-Myrum said the incident happened Sept. 5, on first-grader Gianni Myrum’s first day at Lincoln Elementary School.
Kelly Murray-Myrum is seeking answers after her verbal autistic son Gianni said he was put on the wrong school bus and yelled at by the driver.
Courtesy of Kelly Murray-Myrum
A bus picked up her son up at Learning Loft Daycare in Palatine, where Kelly Murray-Myrum is assistant director, to take him to Lincoln.
“He was obviously super nervous, but he got on the bus,” she said. “Everything was good.”
He was supposed to be dropped off at the day care after school. But when the bus arrived about 3:15 p.m., Gianni was not among the passengers.
A girl who got off the bus told Murray-Myrum that Gianni had boarded the wrong bus.
“I looked at the bus driver,” she said. “I was like, ‘Where’s my son? Where’s Gianni?’ So he called Gianni’s name, and he’s looking around.”
According to Murray-Myrum, the driver said he did not have a list of passengers, just the stops and arrival times. Murray-Myrum then called dispatch, who she said “yelled” at her and told her “this was all my fault.”
Palatine Township Elementary School District 15 said it cannot comment on the events, citing student confidentiality.
When Gianni eventually arrived, he was scared and told his mom “the bus driver was yelling in my face,” Murray-Myrum said. Video of the interaction between Gianni and the bus driver backs up her son’s account, she said.
Murray-Myrum said she has since received an apology and assurances of better performance from the school the next day, but she still wants answers.
“A bus driver should not be yelling at kids, especially one that is six years old and is autistic. I don’t want this to happen to any other child,” she added.
District officials acknowledged the beginning of the school year presents “logistical and scheduling issues” around student transportation.
“Our transportation staff work diligently with parents to immediately rectify these issues to ensure students are transported both safely and on time to maximize their instructional day,” a District 15 statement reads.