‘Humiliated’ disabled man who can’t wear a mask claims he was made to face the wall on a train – Manchester Evening News

It was only after Neil Templeton had been fired from 25 jobs and fallen out with many friends and colleagues that he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome.

By this time he was 36 - and he'd struggled up to that point to understand why he found social interactions so challenging. The diagnosis - indicating he is on the autistic spectrum - was both upsetting and a relief.

As a result of his different way of looking at the world, Neil says he has been bullied, harassed, misunderstood by neighbours and colleagues and that his condition has made the pandemic particularly challenging.

Neil, now 48, suffers from anxiety and insomnia, difficulties exacerbated by the uncertainty of the times.

Due to sensitivity on parts of his face, Neil can't wear glasses or a mask - he says it makes him 'feel weak like jelly' - and aggravates his asthma. For this reason, he is exempt from mask-wearing during the pandemic.

So when, he claims, a conductor on an Avanti West Coast train from London to Manchester Piccadilly reprimanded him in front of other passengers for failing to wear a mask and ordered him to 'face the wall', he says it left him feeling humiliated and depressed. Neil was wearing a sunflower lanyard at the time, intended to signify his hidden disability.

He told the Manchester Evening News: "I was clearly bullied and publicly humiliated by this man who took immediate exception to me not wearing a mask even thought I was peacefully looking out of the window and reading a newspaper."

He added: "I have misunderstandings all the time, I'm not very good at reading if someone is genuine or not. I get into trouble quite a lot. I thought on the train I was doing the right thing by having the ribbon with sunflowers on it. It's hard enough what's going on but that guy made me feel like a prisoner - and he was enjoying it."

Avanti West Coast, who provide sunflower lanyards to be worn by people with hidden disabilities, and train staff on what they mean, have said they are investigating his complaint.

Sadly, the incident on the train was the latest in a long line of distressing incidents for Neil, who has bravely spoken out to raise awareness of Asperger's and offer support to others who may recognise his struggles.

He has had, he says, 'about 90' jobs - some he's left voluntarily, around 25 he's been fired from.

"A lot of people think I'm lazy because of the long periods of unemployment - but it's not the work, it's getting on with other people.

"The longest I've worked is five months. I lived in Sweden for seven years doing care work, I've really tried." he said.

Neil is very sensitive to loud noises - children crying, metal clanging and building work can all leave him in agony.

He said: "I've had incidents in the supermarket where a child cries and I put my fingers in my ears. The mum thinks I'm being nasty but I just can't take the pain of it.

"I've coped with things by not mixing with people as much as I can. I've been bullied at work quite a lot."

It was when Neil was 36 and had just been fired from a job as a bar steward that he finally decided to seek help.

"I got depressed, I'd lost a lot of friends, relationships and jobs because of the way I am and the way I think.

"I finally went to a psychiatrist for two years. They did lots and lots of tests and eventually said I had Asperger's.

"That was a shock. I felt low in a way but part of me was relieved because it wasn't my fault. "

His experience on the train, he says, has brought back other memories too.

When Neil was a child, he says, he was considered 'naughty' and placed in a special school. There wasn't, he says, the same understanding in the education system that there is now.

"I was labelled maladjusted, they didn't understand Asperger's. I was just seen as a bad person," he said.

"I used to hide in toilets and under stairs, it was the only way I could cope."

He said: "I was in a home when I was younger. One of the staff called me 'Lurch'. Asperger's means I have an expressionless face. I remember feeling powerless.

"That's how the man on the train made me feel."

Aged 15 he ran away to Cornwall and worked various jobs, including as a go kart attendant, on a caravan site, in a bakery, in factories, at hotels and doing bar work.

He went on: "Sometimes I thought it was going okay and then they'd pull me into the office and say 'we have to let you go'. Usually because I didn't fit in with the others."

"I lived in Sheffield for five years and my neighbours would knock on my wall every night. They harassed me. It was pure hell," Neil added.

He still struggles with a memory of working in a hotel in the Lake District when he was 19. He says after passing on a complaint about a customer's food, the chef punched him and he was fired.

"It was a long time ago but it was so stressful. I don't think I did anything wrong," he said.

Having worked in the care industry, during which time he supported a client who had cerebral palsy, Neil understands that many people struggle with adversity.

"I don't want to sound like I'm moaning about my problems, other people have it worse than me."

Neil says he wanted to work with people with head injuries but was sadly fired from a job that would have led in that direction - and he gave up on the idea.

Despite the challenges in his life, Neil has learnt to keep going.

"I've complained to Avanti," he said. "I felt thoroughly depressed because of that man. People are already feeling funny because of what's going on. We don't need people like him. On the train to London there was the same rule but people were easy going about it.

"People just need to be more human."

In June this year, Avanti West Coast announced a partnership with Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme with staff briefed on the lanyards, cards and wristbands available at stations aimed at giving passengers with hidden disabilities greater confidence.

A spokeswoman for Avanti West Coast said: "We are aware of these allegations and have contacted the customer to assure him that we are investigating this matter."

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'Humiliated' disabled man who can't wear a mask claims he was made to face the wall on a train - Manchester Evening News