Child With Hallerman-Streiff Forced To Remove Glasses In School Photo, Mother Is Furious, Claims Discrimination

The furious mother of a 3-year-old special needs daughter is claiming discrimination is the reason Abby Lubiewski was forced to remove her glasses for a school photo. A representative with Life Touch School Photography allegedly forced Abby to remove her glasses before he would take her picture. Abby, who has cataracts due to a rare genetic disease called Hallerman-Streiff, is legally blind without her bright pink glasses. Her mother is aware that the glasses can cause a glare when pictures are taken, but is upset that the photographer would force her to remove the glasses since they are an integral part of who Abby is, a part of her identity.

According to Yahoo Parenting, Abby was forced to remove her glasses during a school daycare picture day. It was not realized until the school pictures were finally sent home with Abby, making Amanda Lubiewski furious. When Abby saw the pictures, she could not remember her glasses being removed for the picture, realizing she looks much different when they are off.

“My baby girl loves her glasses and needs them to function to the best of her ability. She is a strong, confident girl and deserves to show off every beautiful part of her, including her glasses.”

In addition to being upset over the removal of Abby’s glasses, Abby’s mother fears her daughter was discriminated against due to her disability, whereas other children were not forced to remove their glasses. Lubiewski shared with Fox 2 that Abby seems quite uncomfortable in the photo, as though she is forcing a smile for the camera. What has Lubiewski most upset is that the same photo is to be used for her identification card, which would be used to identify Abby if she were to come up missing. Without her pink glasses, the photo does not resemble her normal self, which could hinder an accurate identification if needed.

A representative from Life Touch School Photography responded to Lubiewski’s complaint via Facebook, stating that there is “no excuse” for forcing Abby to remove her glasses.

“We should have never had your daughter remove your glasses for the photo, and there is no excuse for that. We would like to offer you retakes free of charge.”

Lubiewski appreciates the offer for free retakes of the photos. However, she is concerned that more photographers may be insensitive or poorly trained in regards to special needs children. She hopes this incident will bring forth new training and development.

[Photo Courtesy Fox 2 Now]