Autistic Boy Without Mask Turned Away From Hersheypark, Mom Says

HERSHEY, PA—A mother is upset after a popular Pennsylvania amusement park recently refused to let her special needs son into the park because he wasn't wearing a mask.

In a Facebook post that has since gone viral, Pamela Heinbaugh posted video of her upset son along with shots of the outside of Hersheypark. In the clip, she states that her son was denied entry into the park because he didn't have a mask on. Her video, which was posted Friday, has been viewed more than 202,000 times.

"He has pseudotumor cerebri, which is fluid in his brain," Heinbaugh says in the video. "It’s been about 15 months now since all of his treatments and hospitalizations. He has severe asthma, so he can’t cover his face. As you can see, he’s autistic, so he won’t wear anything on his head. He can’t wear a hat. He doesn’t even like to wear shoes."

Heinbaugh said that she and her other son did have their masks on, since they don't have a medical condition. In the video, she claims, however, she saw multiple people walk through the entrance of the amusement park without a mask on.

"They said it’s a private establishment, and they have a right to refuse us entrance," the Pennsylvania mother is heard saying in the video. “They clearly don’t give a crap about anybody or their disabled children.”

It is currently mandatory that all Pennsylvanians wear a mask anytime they leave home, state officials have ordered. There are limited exceptions to the face-covering requirement, including for those who cannot wear a mask due medical condition and children under the age of 2.

In response to the mother's video, Hersheypark issued the following statement to Patch:

Hersheypark has implemented a variety of safety initiatives to welcome our guests back to a fun and safe environment. These initiatives include enhancing our already stringent cleaning and sanitization protocols, adding 300 hand sanitizers, enforcing social distancing throughout the park, managing capacity through a reservation system, requiring the use of face coverings, conducting temperature screenings and increasing team member training. Please see our comprehensive safety guidelines here - www.hersheypark.com/safety.php

Our COVID-19 health and safety policy mandates face coverings for all guests and team members and provides an accommodation for those who can’t wear a covering by permitting use of a face shield. Everyone over the age of 2 will need to have either a face covering or face shield to enter the park. We believe this is aligned with Governor Wolf's overarching goal to keep people safe and our own mandate to protect the health and safety of our guests and team members at Hersheypark. This policy is being applied uniformly to everyone and is an important safeguard for those who choose to work with us or honor us with a visit. Citing the public health priority, this position has also been viewed favorably by the external autism, disability and accessibility agencies with which we work.

Our policy is meant to protect the health and safety of all of our guests and team members at Hersheypark. It is being followed by many of our peers in the amusement park industry and is consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which allows businesses to impose legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operations when a direct threat, like COVID-19, has been established. Additionally, there are certain circumstances in the Park where we are not able to achieve proper social distancing between guests and team members (e.g., when we check lap restraints on rides), which makes uniform face coverings all the more critical.

We understand and appreciate the perspective and concerns of our guests, and we have an established record of offering a safe and welcoming environment for all those who visit Hersheypark. Being inclusive and welcoming is incredibly important to us. To that end, if there’s anything we can do to help a guest with our policy, we are eager to assist in any way that we are able.

Mark Davis, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disability told WTAJ-TV in an interview that “a face mask, a face shield, it’s still got pressure on the head, it’s still out of the ordinary."

According to Davis, although it’s a tough situation, he told the news station that he believes that Hersheypark is only looking out for the best interest of its guests and workers, while Heinbaugh is looking out for her son.