Parents fight to get New York library's ban lifted on son with autism | NBC New York

A family in Westchester is fighting now to get their son access to their local library. Their son has autism and loves to spend time in the children's book section. But one library won't let him in. News 4's Mark Santia has the story. When they walked in the rain, Fred was wet and Ted was dry. Poetry, fairy tales, animal adventures, children's books bring enjoyment to Matt Maillet. Matt is 31 years old, but developmentally he's closer to 5 years old. Matt has Prader-Willi syndrome and he has autism. He's very autistic. He's got the mind of a kindergartner, but he's got the body of a teenager. The children's section here at the West Harrison Library was a favorite place for Matt. The atmosphere, the activities, the music program. But last week, Matt and his caregiver Kayla were asked to leave. They came up to us. He was sitting in a chair waiting for me to bring him books. And they came up with the rules and said Matt was no longer allowed to be there because he was an adult. Kayla has started an online petition challenging the library's policy, which states no one over the age of 12 can use the children's room unless they're accompanying a child. Kayla says she's brought Matt to this library several times. He's never had issues, disturbed anyone. He just enjoys the environment. He loves to be around the kids. It makes him happy. He loves to hear their voices, watch them play. People like Matt have been shortchanged in life already. And to be shortchanged at a public library, it's atrocious. Right now, there are 645 signatures towards the petition goal of 1,000. Matt's parents are hoping the library can turn the page and have a change of heart. It was very sad. I think he should be allowed in. They should change their rules. We reached out to the library for comment. The director responded by saying they quote, respectfully declined due to privacy reasons. In West Harrison, I'm Mark Santia, News 4 New York.