A MOTHER has been left upset and angry after a bus driver made a joke of her four-year-old son’s autism.

Rosie Kennerson, 24, along with her mother Carol Stevenson, had taken her son Harley Paul shopping in Salisbury on Saturday to buy new shoes ready for his first day at Exeter House School this week.

After they had finished their shopping the trio got on a Wilts & Dorset bus to go home to Durrington.

Harley was being noisy and the bus driver told him to be quiet, but when Miss Kennerson explained that Harley is autistic, the driver replied “so am I”.

Miss Kennerson said: “It was disgusting. I was so shocked. Every time we use Wilts & Dorset buses my son is told to be quiet or shut up, and I normally get an apology when I explain his condition. She said the driver was sarcastic, and when she asked him if what he said was meant to be a joke she was told to go and sit down.

“If my son was in a wheelchair or had a visible disability, he wouldn’t have been treated this way,” she said.

As they left the bus in Durrington, Mrs Stevenson spoke to the driver, saying she hoped no one in his family was ever diagnosed with autism. She said his reply was to say they “shouldn’t be so sensitive”.

Miss Kennerson, who lives in Windsor Mews, said Harley doesn’t understand the need to be quiet or that he only needs to use a certain number of words, and that he has no sense of danger.

“Anyone who understands autism will know that going on a simple shopping trip to get shoes is a traumatic experience as it is,” she said, “and this incident made the whole experience even worse.

“I would like to make more people aware of autism and 'invisible disabilities'. People with invisible disabilities are still people and should be treated with respect like everyone else.”

A spokesman for Wilts & Dorset said that the firm will investigate the complaint and reprimand the driver for his unacceptable response to the mother’s explanation of her son’s behaviour.

He said: “We apologise to Rosie Kennerson for his reaction. We are pleased to hear that other drivers, who are for safety reasons within their rights to ask for any distracting behaviour from any passenger to stop, have been polite and understanding.”