The Transportation Security Administration concedes that a 4-year-old boy heading to Walt Disney World for a birthday celebration should not have been forced to remove his leg braces during an airport-security screening in Philadelphia, a Philly columnist writes.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Daniel Rubin writes that the incident occurred last March when Ryan Thomas was flying to Orlando with his parents, Bob and Leona, but that the TSA apologized last week only after the columnist got wind of it.

Read Rubin's full column here.

Rubin says Ryan was born 16 weeks prematurely and started to walk only last March because his ankles are malformed and his legs have low muscle tone.

TSA screeners insisted that Ryan take off his braces and walk through the detector unaccompanied.

Rubin writes that the TSA, in its apology, said Ryan should have been taken into a private area and swabbed for traces of explosive materials.

(Posted by Doug Stanglin)