Mother Tries To Get Autistic Son To School

PHILADELPHIA - A mother desperate to get her autistic son to school but the bus just won't come. With health problems of her own and no car, this mom is out of options.

So she came to Fox 29 and our bruce gordon is working to get results.
Ten year old Jamar spent this day at home, playing with mom. It's fun, but Jameelah Ali knows it's not where her son should be.

Jamar attends the NHS school for autistic children at least he does when his school van gets him there. This morning, for what Jameelah estimates was about the 20th time this school year it did not.

When she called to ask why the van never showed, she was told she had asked the driver not to come today that her son was sick.

Bruce Gordon called Mike Hashemian, the boss over at all-city transportation, that's Jamar's van service looking for answers.

Mike wouldn't talk to us on camera, but said the family had failed to notify them of a change of address and that on some days Jamar wasn't ready when the van arrived and for this morning. Mike told us it was Jamar's dad who said not to come.

All city is paid by the school district to provide transportation for kids like Jamar. In reponse to our questions, a district spokesman told me this afternoon that- for the next couple of weeks they will require the van driver to radio in, each day, when he arrives at Jamar's house for pick-up.

Whoever's right or whoever's wrong the goal is to make sure that van gets that little boy to school every day.