Would You Want to Have a Disabled Person Parking Permit?
Should those who care for autistic persons be allowed to use the “blue badge” denoting that a driver is “disabled”? The BBC News suggests that the British government has been dragging its feet on this. Says one voice in support, the Countess of Mar:
“Anybody who sees a mother struggling with an autistic child or even a carer with an autistic adult will know just how difficult it is to get them to the shops,” she said.
“They cannot travel in public transport. They cannot control them in order to walk long distances to the shops. Why can’t they be given a blue badge?”
I’ll be honest: When Charlie was younger, and as recently as in the past two years, I would have liked very much to have been able to display a “blue badge”—a parking permit for those with disabilities. I know there are stickers that one can post on one’s car window to announce that an autistic child or adult is in the car but the “blue badge” is what enables a person to park in a parking spot specially designate for the disabled. Jim and I have both been in situations where—Charlie was really struggling some two years ago—the police have pulled us over, or where being able to park as close to our destination as possible—or not to have to hunt for a parking place—would have helped a lot.
We were able to figure out why Charlie was having trouble in the car—-much of it anxiety-related—-and we no longer need such a “blue badge.” What are your thoughts?
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Disability Rights, Q & A
15 opinions for Would You Want to Have a Disabled Person Parking Permit?
chrisd
Apr 23, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Do you mean you DON’T have one of those blue tags? Why not? Is that a federal thing or is it a state licensing?
My friend lives in Jersey and I believe she has one. I’ll have to ask.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Apr 23, 2007 at 6:56 pm
We don’t have one—we have not needed one, so far. Let me know what you find out!
Joe
Apr 23, 2007 at 7:54 pm
I’ve thought about getting one for myself, but just haven’t gotten around to getting one.
Shopping is such a pain and parking only makes it worse.
Carol
Apr 23, 2007 at 8:23 pm
A few years ago we got one for our autistic son. He would run away from us so the longer we were in the parking lot, the more danger there was. We found that using a wheel chair helped him calm himself and allowed him to deal much better with the sensory overload he experienced in stores. Putting a belt on the wheelchair gave us much more control over his running as well. It was far easier to obtain our blue tag than I thought it would be. Our ped. simply indicated that we needed one and presto, it was ours. It’s been a lifesaver, specially now that he’s bigger and getting harder to control.
Kassiane
Apr 23, 2007 at 8:31 pm
I think some families should be able to get them, depending on the needs of their children.
Like with kids who are “runners”, haven’t yet learned to respond to their name or “stop”, will not hold hands (tying beltloops together is an inelegant solution, it really is…). Families with adults who forget to look both ways, have unpredictable behavior for whatever reason, autistic people with significant medical comorbidity (and I’m not considering mine significant in this context, if I’m not feeling well enough to drive I don’t, and I can ride in a shopping cart if I suddenly feel crappy…and I can CARRY my dad if HE crashes).
But I can see autism as excuse for blue badge being misused, just as just about every condition is. That shouldn’t keep states from issuing them as appropriate, though…they’re there for a reason.
Good, thought provoking topic.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Apr 23, 2007 at 8:50 pm
One reason I haven’t wanted to get one is because of all the driving we do for my in-laws who really, really, really need them. Most parking places are too far for them and most ramps are challenges—-they rarely leave the house, as it is.
I wrote on this realizing it would be a bit disingenuous for me to note that Charlie bikes for 10 hours and yet we need a blue parking permit. But when he was younger—especially when he was 4 or 5 and I still carried him a lot, and certainly when a tough moment happened and I just wanted to get us out of there, I could have used a shorter walk—it would have been a lot safer, for one thing, than trying to drag us across a parking lot. (In those days, I usually had an upset child in one arm and a few bags of groceries in the other…..lost a few apples along the way…..).
Daisy
Apr 23, 2007 at 9:13 pm
We have one, but not for autism — it’s for Amigo’s blindness. There are times, such as the mall or baseball parks, where walking a long distance with him is just too unwieldy. Luckily, we only need it once in a great while.
Joeymom
Apr 23, 2007 at 9:56 pm
We’ve thought about it, as Joey is starting to run, and it is worrisome. However, we’ve found that most of the places we go, it wouldn’t be much use anyway. At stores, its easier to just park beside the cart returns. At church, all the disabled spots are taken, anyway. But there are some times when the only off-street parking is the disabled spaces, and I cannot tell you how much safer it is for us to pull of the street and have more control of the space around the car while loading and unloading Joey.
Maria
Apr 23, 2007 at 11:09 pm
We’ve had one for my daughter since she was three, after her speech therapist recommended it after watching me dash back and forth feeding a one-hour only meter twice to avoid a ticket during a one-hour appointment. With all the medical, school and therapeutic appointments she’s had since then, it has come in very handy. We use it only when there are no other spaces available, or when parking elsewhere would pose a hazard to my often inattentive-to-traffic daughter. It is renewed every two years and it has also worked in other states when we have used it on vacation.
Kev
Apr 24, 2007 at 2:50 am
We’re chasing one….Tony Blair hates us ;o)
Jeanette
Apr 24, 2007 at 7:24 am
Oh, I received my blue placard 3 years ago. With 2 that will run in traffic, it has been a lifesaver. Now, we just use the placard when Kiernan, our 6 year old, is with us.
The other children know the safety rules.
Jeanette
Apple_M
Apr 24, 2007 at 9:05 am
We have a UK blue badge!!
We won ours on first application although you need to understand the system and prove that your child has no concept of danger acts irrationally and will not always respond to commands.
Reaction from other badge holders and the general public can be hostile when you get out the car with 2 well behaved able bodied kids (on a good day). but we al know that the smallest thing can cause a major incident.
mcewen
Apr 24, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Hmmm, it’s only a few feet from the car to the sidewalk - how difficult can it be? It’s not as if their legs don’t work. They’re not REALLY disabled, not like that.
What a jolly big fuss about nothing. It’s not as if I don’t have any arms! I can clamp one on each hip and skip into the supermarket. Hope the other typical one doesn’t get squished like a pancake whilst I’m dealing with the other two.
Of course the screaming can be a bit of a ‘bummer’ especially when each mouth is perfectly aligned with my ears, but what else are ear plugs for?
Cheers
Kristina Chew, PhD
Apr 24, 2007 at 5:59 pm
One wonders: Do those who attend “heavy” metal concerts undergo more ear drum damage or some certain “category” of parents especially a mother in a hot parking lot….
Julia
Apr 27, 2007 at 6:31 pm
If I had one, I wouldn’t use it unless I were out with 2 or more of my children — I can handle any 1 of them just fine without the extra help.
The “parking next to the cart corral” trick works if I’m going to be able to get them into a cart.
I think we’re OK for awhile longer; I think the double stroller will handle kids at least up to 50 lbs. and double stroller + harness on the one most likely to bolt will do us for awhile.
(And I get enough dirty looks when I’m taking my friend with another “invisible disability” places and we use her hangtag. People’s perception of disability is entirely too binary — just because someone can walk 20 feet doesn’t mean they can walk a mile!)
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: