A gentleman in a wheelchair sometimes gets on the bus at my bus stop. The driver is able to lower the left side of the bus a little closer to the curb. Then he hops out, runs to the rear entrance door, and puts a short ramp from the sidewalk into the bus. A couple of passengers are asked to change their seats, and their seats are folded away to make a spot for the wheelchair. Then the fellow drives his motorized wheelchair up the ramp, and, with a couple of back-and-forth movements, parks the wheelchair in the designated spot. The whole process takes a couple of minutes.
This morning a group of 6 students with disabilities got on the bus for some kind of field trip. They were wearing the regular middle-school uniforms of the school near our apartment. A teacher and 2 aides got on with the children, and although all children walked onto the bus, 2 wheelchairs were also brought on board.
While we were writing, the aides were communicating amiably with the students. It seemed to be a group of children with significant developmental delays, and perhaps the stereotypic motions indicated some level of autism. One of the students, who seem to be nonverbal, clapped her hands very loudly and then immediately put her finger to her mouth to say shhhhh. The teacher calmly came over to her and showed her a little picture the green face with the finger indicating shhhhh. On the other side of this sign was a red image with an X through it, as a way of communicating stop.
Overall, my impression was of the normality of it all. The students were scattered in different spots in the bus, and their teachers were very calm and upbeat. I got off before they did so I don't know the destination for today's outing.
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