Handicap spots?

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Do any of you have a handicap placard/plate for anything or a family member who does? I am just curious. I know people with autism can get them too... mostly because if they have meltdowns, its easier if their car is closer to the store so they can run out and meltdown IN the car... or something.

My dad has handicap plates. He has tendinitis in his joints and it makes it hard for him to walk long distances. He can walk but if he has to walk for a long time then he usually has to find someway to avoid that.

I find his handicap plates easier for me too. I don't use them but at times I feel its necessary if something happens with my disabilities and I have to be closer to the car so i can prevent embarrassment if I get upset or something.

How about you? I'm actually curious to know what people have handicap placards/plates for since there are so many conditions out there that require the use of them.

(I wasn't sure where else this went. I figured it fell under the 'other' conditions since it deals with other conditions as well.)

My parents have a card for it. My mom has Devic's Disease and has trouble walking due to it.

Honestly if you are emotionally sound enough to drive around here then you should be emotionally sound enough to walk a few more feet to your car.

Those spaces should be reserved for people who have mobility issues that limit them physically or require more space for them to get out of the car. A person in a wheelchair, for example, can't park in a regular space because there is not enough room for them to get their wheelchair out unless they have a van with a back unloading ramp.

Yeah, even with a diagnosis from a psychologist and scoring 198 out of 200 on those tests, I don't feel I need handicap access. If something happens that causes me to flee because of panic, embarrassment, anger, or whatever, my car being a few spots closer isn't going to make much of a difference.

Yeah I know. My dad has one for a physical reason. Like I said, he has tendinitis in his joints which can make it impossible for him to walk long distances, that's why he has one.

But I mean for parents though, I read somewhere that children who are autistic usual get it because the spaces provide them room if the child has a meltdown in the parking lot due to sensory issues or something...

Like this for example: http://autism-blog.blogspot.com/2006/10 ... rking.html Sometimes for me, even as an adult, I have similiar issues. It can be hard for me if I am having a really bad day and everything triggers both my anxiety and sensory issues too.

I'd think they'd want to be at the end of the parking lot personally.

No, I don't have a handicapped parking permit. Then again, I don't drive. Even if I got my driver's license, I still wouldn't get a permit. I don't think that most people who have ASD's need a handicapped parking permit. However, if a person has mobility issues, then yes, they should get a handicapped parking permit if it helps them feel better.

That may be but handicap spots aren't just for those who are in wheelchairs or use mobility chairs... they can also be for people who might have certain medical conditions such as a heart defect or other disease that can make it difficult for them to walk long distances to and from their car. Like said, my dad CAN walk, yes, but just because he can walk and also drive, doesn't mean he shouldn't have his handicap plates that he has. He is capable of walking but he just has a hard time walking long distances because of his tendinitis.

If an autistic person is severe enough on the spectrum to have massive behavioral and sensory issues, wouldn't you rather that person had room enough to meltdown or would you want that autistic person melting down and banging against your car because of the limited space between parking spots? I can see that in some cases, autism wouldn't be a good reason for a placard but in some cases, yes, because the person could have some sort of disability that causes some sort of impairment that can make it harder for them to function... then maybe they have some eligibility.

I also feel its easier with my dad, since he parks in the handicap spots, I sometimes have a fear of cars, touching them or passing them and their alarms going off or them pulling out and not knowing I am passing... or that I pass and don't know they are coming out, can be awfully distressing. If my dad is closer than I know where he is and I feel more at ease that I don't have to pass a bunch of cars to get to the end of the parking lot.

In conclusion, you can't say that a handicap spot is just for those with mobility issues. It depends on the nature of a person's disability and what it does to prevent them from parking in a normal parking spot. But because, for me, my dad having the handicap plates because of his disability than it works out for us both either way. My dad is the only one who can drive because me and my mom are both incapable due to medical reasons as well... so my dad pretty much always has to park in handicap spots because he can't walk for a long distance or it becomes harder for him to walk. He also has other health issues that can sometimes weigh down on him having tendinitis.

Besides, for me, as I stated, due to sensory issues and ADHD... sometimes its harder for me to really walk past parked cars because I am focused on getting to the store's entrance that I'm not thinking a car could come charging out without seeing me go by... so it causes some impairment. Also, sensory-wise, I get overloaded by the car alarms that go off, even if they are a few cars back it can still make me meltdown and it wouldn't be wise for someone to melt down in the middle of a parking lot where someone could hit you, now would it?

I mean yeah, mobility reasons have a much higher chance of getting the plates but I think if other impairments get in the way that those conditions can benefit for a handicap placard. I've seen those with PTSD get them because having cars come out without any warning could trigger a traumatic event for them and cause them to panic. It really depends on how the disability affects a person that can prevent them from being farther away from the entrance to a building.

Sorry, just wanted to throw that out there.

That happens to me as well, whenever I'm walking towards the store entrance.

I do not drive, because my condition means that I can break down and it is simply not safe or responsible for me to drive. Equally I would not ever ask for a disabled parking permit. I can and do have huge issues going to public places, primarily due to sensory issues, but I am working through them and most of the time the solution is to simply not go to them at all. I know when I will be worse, and I do not go at those times. I would not think it is responsible for a parent to drag a child through a store when they cannot cope with it. I need to learn to cope with sensory overload in small situations first and a child is the same. I have assistance with my grocery shopping as I cannot cope with it alone. I catch taxi's most of the time as I cannot cope with public transport. People with mobility impairments cannot change and cannot improve their situation. Sure I cannot take away my autism, but I can learn to cope with it better, and I can get assistance to cope with that. I fail to see how a child with autism is assisted by being forced into situations that cause them to have a total meltdown. They need to learn to cope with the world around them in small situations before we force them into larger ones. That does not mean locking them up and not taking them out, but it does mean being responsible about what we do with them. Torturing a child is not helping them, and for many children with profound autism shopping malls are torture.

At an absolute minimum I would think that there should be two types of disabled parking spaces, one for those that need the extra space and one for those that don't.

I should add the most pathetic excuse I have heard of for disabled parking spaces is blindness. A person who is blind does not drive. They go with someone else, who can lead them through the car park, or they catch a taxi who can drop them at the door or public transport that drops them at public transport spaces. If anyone can give me the slightest reason as to why a blind person needs a disabled parking space I would love to know. The only reason anyone has ever offered me is as compensation for being blind. And I am yet to know how a disabled parking spot is compensation for being blind!! !!

But sometimes even people with mobility issues who don't drive also have a handicap spot. Like a child or a younger person in the family. A person doesn't actually HAVE TO drive to have a spot. It depends on the nature of the person's special needs. A family member with a mobility disability has more eligibility to get a handicap spot because they need the extra space for a wheelchair. I can see how a blind person might too... because they might need room to adjust to their surroundings and if a car is parked to close, it might be a little difficult for them to find their ground and stand up with assistance because well... when you can't see, you rely on something near you. Some cars have alarms that are touch sensitive and you touch them then they can go right off. I can kind of see that benefit there. O.o

That is not understanding blindness at all. A blind person needs things that are as small and as close as possible. Sure people who are mobility impaired need the extra space, even if they are not driving. But if someone is unable to go to the shops alone and does not need the extra space, then there is no need for it no. And a blind person cannot go to the shops alone in that way no. If they are getting out of a car alone and without assistance, they can be dropped off at the front of the shops. If they are going with someone, then there is NO reason why that person cannot assist them. The other reality is that over 50% of the population has some form of disability so how do you intend to accommodate ALL of those people. You are coming up with reasons why every single disabled person regardless of their disability should have a wide space at the entrance to the shops and when half the population has something wrong with them then you begin to have problems. If most people need more space, then that means we need to redesign the size of car spaces to make room for everyone, but the fact remains that we cannot have spaces at the front of stores for 50% of people, becuase there simply are too many of them.

Disability parking permits in my country of Australia are currently being rewritten as it has gotten so out of hand that those that need them most are simply not able to get a parking spot as there are none available, as so many people now have the parking permits. Many many people will be left out of the new system, and they are bringing in more stringent tests and the like, and it will primarily be for those that are in wheelchairs and the like. Those that do not require the extra space will be able to get a permit that allows them to park for twice the allocated time, and so if they need to stop and the like they can do that. Hence a parent with a child with a disability who is not mobility impaired could get a class 2 permit, that will allow them twice the time normally allowed, so they have time to calm the child down and the like, without being booked for being in the spot for too long, but they will not get a mobility impaired space as they do not require it.

If you are saying that every single person with a disability MIGHT have a need for something then I question how you intend to find enough disability parking spaces for them. And from my communications online with people who are mobility impaired in the US many of them have huge issues finding mobility parking spots, as they are full from people who have permits for other reasons. Sure if you have a permit and can park elsewhere and it is full not a problem, you just go and park elsewhere. When you are physically unable do do that, then what are you supposed to do??? The reality is that there MAY be a case for saying that standard parking spaces need to be increased in size, but if you are saying that half the population needs to be out the front of the store, then I question how you intend to provide spaces for all those people, as even if you had the first half of the car park for disabled parking, you would still not have the ability for them to be within a few steps of the store.

No I do not. If I did, it be because my husband has bad feet and he has a hard time walking when he has been on them too long. They have gotten worse over the years and I think there will come a time where he won't be able to work anymore and need SSI and maybe a handicap parking permit. I am terrified of using one because of judgments people make. Not because of their thoughts but because of what they can do to your car. A woman with a terminal illness in my area got her car keyed because she parked in the handicap spot and this man gave her a dirty look. When she left the store and got back to her car, there was this heavy mark on her car left by the guy.

Actually, even with someone leading you it can be difficult to navigate a car park, not to mention frightening. I used to go to a college for the blind (I myself am not blind) and one time the staff (we had 3) had to lead 16 blind/VI people through the busy car park because some div had blocked the disabled space with a van.

I wouldn't say the autistic person THEMSELVES would need a disabled bay, because autism isn't a mobility problem. HOWEVER I do think SOME parents or carers of more severely autistic children/adults need them because it is difficult to control some people in a stimulating environment like a car park. The care homes in our company who cater for LFA people have disabled cards, but the HFA homes don't.

Yeah! Exactly... that's why parents usually get them for the autistic children because of the severity of their autism. It depends how autism affects the person in such an environment where they could thrash and kick and scream. If you have a touch sensitive car near by, which must people do nowadays, imagine the sensory distress that add to their environment if they kicked the car and it went off... not to mention, some autistic children can have severe outbursts.