Autumn Gardiner thought updating her driving license would be straightforward. After getting married last year, she headed to the local Department of Motor Vehicles office in Connecticut to get her name changed on her license. While she was there, Gardiner recalls, officials said she needed to update her photo. That's when things started to go wrong. Every time staff tried to take her photo, Gardiner says, the system would reject it. 'Everyone's watching. They're taking more photos,' she recalls. Gardiner, who works as a grant manager for an environmental conservation charity, is one of a small number of people globally who live with Freeman-Sheldon syndrome. Sometimes known as Whistling Face syndrome, the genetic condition impacts muscles around the face and skull, which can result in an undersized mouth. As more staff members at the DMV were called to help, Gardiner says she started to believe the rejected photos were being caused by her facial difference. The camera system didn't...
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