SINGAPORE — When MRT train services were disrupted last Wednesday (Sept 25) on a segment of the East-West Line, a special tag on the bag of Muaz Mohamad Hafiz and the Find My Location mobile application helped to assure his mother that he was not lost.

The 15-year-old has autism and had not moved from Jurong East MRT Station after school. He usually uses the East-West Line from there to go home to the eastern part of Singapore.

His mother Lydiawati Ismail then booked a private-hire vehicle to get to him. The trip there took her an hour.

The incident got the 42-year-old homemaker thinking about how people with autism may be thrown off by such train disruptions and find them disconcerting or not know how to respond.

The signs, digital displays and announcements meant for the masses may not always be as useful or straightforward for people with special needs.

In a TikTok video posted to her account "lydiawatimz" — where she often publishes posts as a parent raising an autistic child — she was seen hurrying up the stairs at Jurong East MRT Station, searching for her boy.

She took the stairs because the escalators were packed with people, she wrote in the video's caption.

"He is non-verbal otw (on the way) home from school."

In her video, the public announcement system is heard playing the voice message: "Attention to all passengers. There is no train service between Boon Lay and Queenstown on the East-West Line."  

Ms Lydiawati eventually locates her son. He is standing at a corner, seemingly unfazed. "Muaz!" she cries out. "No train!" 

She said that she was glad he seemed calm, because he had waited at least an hour for her.

On Sept 25 morning, SMRT announced that train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations were suspended due to a "traction power fault". 

It was later discovered that a faulty train returning to Ulu Pandan depot caused a power trip, resulting in "extensive damage" to the train track and equipment, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said. 

Peak-hour trips were affected, as the disruption affected nine stations, including two interchange stations at Jurong East and Buona Vista.

Restoration efforts are ongoing and the authorities aim to fully restore the services on Tuesday this week. 

Speaking to TODAY, Ms Lydiawati said that she was expecting her son to be on his way home from school, which was in Bukit Batok. Bukit Batok MRT Station is on the unaffected North-South Line and it makes a stop at the Jurong East interchange.

When she checked his son's location using the Find My Location app on her smartphone at 2.10pm that day, she saw that he was still in Jurong East. 

"On normal days, he would already be around Buona Vista or Redhill (stations) by then. I read the news and discovered that there was no train service. I video-called him and sure enough, he was still in Jurong East," she recounted. 

"I panicked a little, thinking that this was his first time experiencing such a disruption, and I was worried if he’d be okay with the sudden change in routine. I also wondered if anyone there would help him." 

Ms Lydiawati said that her son is categorised as non-verbal, but he is not mute. He can say one or two words about the food or places that he likes, but rarely engages in two-way communication.

When she was on the way to the station, a staff member from SMRT called her husband after seeing the tag that she had placed on her son's school bag.

"My husband asked him to keep an eye on Muaz until one of us arrived. The tag includes his condition and our contact numbers.

"I knew something like this could happen eventually, so we put these measures in place. I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon." 

When she found Muaz at the station platform, she sensed that he had some understanding of the situation, given the absence of big groups of people waiting for trains and no sightings of incoming trains.

"The problem was that he didn’t know what his next step should be. At the same time, he may have been hoping that the train would arrive later."

Ms Lydiawati was surprised by how calm he was when he saw her, especially since he was likely tired and hungry after school, waiting for a train that did not arrive.

"He couldn’t express his thoughts, but I’m sure he felt as relieved as I was." 

'DON'T FORGET ABOUT OUR SPECIAL CHILDREN'

Ms Lydiawati said that she has been letting her son travel independently and he has been doing so for more than a year. This was the first time that such an incident occurred.

She also said that the disruption was a good learning opportunity for them as a family. "Life doesn’t always go as planned and this was an unexpected lesson.

"I hope that in future breakdowns, people don’t forget about our special children." 

Most comments on Ms Lydiawati's TikTok video lauded her efforts to raise awareness about caring for people with special needs. 

One comment read: "Thank you for sharing a reminder to not forget about commuters with autism. It never crossed my mind but I will keep an eye out in future." 

Others said that watching Ms Lydiawati running and panting made them emotional, to the point of shedding tears.

"You are an amazing mum… brought me to tears seeing and sensing your love and desire to reach him and ensuring he is safe. May he always be kept safe in his travels," one TikTok user wrote.