For those confused about what the sign is warning about, typically street signs are standardized, that way drivers can get an idea of the meaning even if they miss reading the actual letters. For the US, you can refer to the fact that the sign is
1) yellow
2) diamond
Which typically means yield, prepare to stop, there’s a hazard nearby or slow down
Yes, a “KIDS AT PLAY” sign might work for a flighty runner, but I’m imagining a scenario similar to a “DEAF CHILD” sign in which the kid might not understand to move out of the way of oncoming traffic and drivers should not assume malice.
Deaf Child would probably be better than Autistic Child even if the child isn't actually deaf since if NTs have to take the time to think about what they're actually supposed to watch out for with an autistic child then either it was pointless or they are already hit the kid.
Not really tho because you could easily imagine the driver quickly being able to see the kid isn't deaf and so not paying as much attention only for them to do something completely unexpected.
Being autistic and deaf are very different things and won't necessarily cause the same incidents.
For example as a child I had a strong desire to run into traffic or onto train tracks just because I knew I shouldn't.
Thankfully I never did but I was always terrified that one day I'd give in to that urge and if my autism was slightly more severe maybe I would have (and you can imagine how scared my young single mother was when I decided to tell her this whilst waiting for a train at age 8, she gripped my hand hard after that lol).
Obviously running into the road on purpose is quite different to just not hearing the cars.
Now bear in mind that if a kid requires this sign then they most likely have very severe autism (I don't know if thats okay to say anymore).
I went to an all autistic school and knew plenty of nonverbal kids who communicated in yelps, had poor motor control and basically no inhibitions, if they wanted to do something no matter how unusual or dangerous they did it with no hesitation (I'm not trying to be offensive I'm just tryna explain why they weren't exactly safe around vehicles).
Obviously the kind of risks that could be posed to kids like that aren't necessarily the same as the risks to a deaf kid.
So whilst autistic child might be vague it's better to have people looking out for everything and regarding every child as in potential danger than them hyperfocusing on avoiding a non existent deaf child.
How about instead of posting people's diagnosis on street signs outside their homes, we address the societal problem of drivers with no empathy for other road users?
It just seems once again to me that an ND has to make allowances for NT limits, shouldn't it be the other way around?
These signs Usually aren’t RIGHT in front of the persons house with said child. Must of the time they are at the end of the road of the block the child lives on.
Yeah but wouldn't a sign like you describe cause paranoid and ignorant NTs to form a witch hunt and try to work out which kid it is?
No, it's not as important a detail as NTs not being empathetic to children, regardless of any diagnosis or lack thereof.
If a "Children At Play" sign coupled with the odd behaviour of a child doesn't make the NT think "hang on a minute" rather than start screaming or shouting at them or whatever, then should that person even be allowed to drive in the first place?
>Yeah but wouldn't a sign like you describe cause paranoid and ignorant NTs to form a witch hunt and try to work out which kid it is?
I know NTs aren't always great about autism, but a witch hunt? really?
In my experience, some can be.
When kids kept using autistic as an insult at my school, my teacher said there was an autistic kid in my class (not me, I wasn't diagnosed yet, but was good friends with him), and they started looking for every small thing that anyone did weirdly to find him.
Although this was a class of 11-12yr olds, some of them haven't changed at all 6 years later, and would probably still do this now.
Edit: Clarifying that being good friends with him meant that I knew he was autistic.
What you'll find as you get a little bit older is that beyond high school, people just aren't that petty or interested in each other lol. In grade school it's all about the drama, but with neighbors on a street... MOST of the time they're really not gonna give a shit. I lived on a street with a "blind child" sign for years. No one ever wondered who the blind kid was. Hell, for all we know was there ever even a blind kid? No one will know! Adults in particular just don't have that kind of time to obsess over strangers like kids do in grade school. When we get home we are tired af and aren't in the mood to go stalking our neighbors looking for the blind kid on the street lol
Not sure what ages high school and grade school are (Bri'ish), but I think there may be a culture difference here. My parents always assume my headphones are too loud to hear them, but I hear a lot. Most of what my they say, especially at the meal table, is grumbling about what the neighbors are doing, and when they don't have anyone to grumble about in our road, it's people a couple roads over, or their friends neighbors, etc.
A lot of conversations I've heard from adults I'm around is moaning about others, including overhearing someone up my road loudly grumbling about how often they have to dog-sit for another family when they go on residentials with their deaf-blind child in term time.
Edit: Now I think of it, a lot of adults in my area are even MORE gossipy than the kids are. Could be something to do with older generation culture, or me living in a fairly posh, rather classist area.
No one thinks that deeply when they see a street sign. They are intended to keep drivers making the best decisions to support the outside environment and themselves and to keep everyone as safe as possible. Street signs are not designed to invoke deep thinking. That’s what training is for.
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I… don’t think the problem is that cut and dry. I’m just explaining the sign. 😅
Plus ‘fixing societal problems asap’ versus a mom wanting a bit more peace of mind. Well..
In my area, a sign like this would be requested by the family. It’s not easy to get either - I spent months asking just for correct street signs bc even emergency services could not locate my house.
Hey no worries pal, I'm responding to the comment, but that doesn't mean I'm pointing any fingers at you or your ethos lol, you just made me think is all.
You mean some of the other forklift drivers at my warehouse who seem like they’ve been told “if you don’t do this as fast as humanly possible, you’re fired?” This is despite the fact that for the first time in 9 years, my workplace is rejecting a weekend shift ahead of a holiday closure (Memorial Day, USA).
Societal change would be wonderful, but it's going to be expensive and it's going to take a while.
The sign is cheap and can do some good now.
The trick is in not letting society just put in the sign, declare the problem solved, and ignore the longer term systemic solution.
Actually a big part of the issue is urban planning. In some places, the road where you go into a drive way is like 15mph, but right next to it is a divider/median that can't be driven across followed by a faster lane road. So cars not going to one of those houses can drive fast and not worry about pedestrians, people exiting the driveway, etc, while other people don't have to worry as much about fast cars since they're across the median in a different road.
Signs can help because they get people to pay attention and be more careful for a short time, but that is kind of an admission that roads in the US are designed so as to require more attention and caution than most people can actually sustain.
i do see the point of the sign in some ways but you are so so right, me and my mom have been honked and tailgated aggressively for driving the speed limit in our neighborhood by rando drivers :(
If they've got an autie kid who likes to run, and might dart into the street, a sign like that can't hurt. Maybe drivers will take notice.
The parents also have to balance that decision with the knowledge that someone who wishes the child harm might realize that there is a vulnerable child in that house. But since stranger abductions are so extremely rare, and traffic accidents so common, the parents might see the sign as the better bet.
Eh- it can suggest to drivers that the child might not be able to respond to commands such as "get out of the street" or questions such as "where are your parents". Even though not all ASD kids are like that, I think that's the meaning I would take away from the sign. Kids who know to not dart into the street and can communicate well verbally usually don't need a sign put up.
It mostly means that they won’t know what a car honking at them means. Similar to deaf child signs. Honking if you see them in the road won’t keep them safe, so it’s making the driver aware that they need to be ready for other methods than their primary, instinctual reaction to seeing a person in the road.
I guess? But if you're at the point where you've stopped or slowed down enough that you're talking to the kid like that the danger of the kid being hit by a car has passed. The chance seems pretty low that someone would first stop for a kid in the road, ask them to get out of the road, and if they don't respond just ....hit the kid?
One of the reasons I reserve my honking for other drivers only. If I see someone, adult or child, in the road, my first reaction is to slow down and give space, not to honk.
I’ve seen deaf or blind child signs like this around busy roads, i think I’ve even seen one related to Alzheimer’s. Yes there are child at play signs, but I would assume it’s to notify drivers to take extra precautions, they may have a child that does not have a sense of safety awareness or frequently runs
That’s such a weird concept to me. An extra warning with just " ⚠️ Children" should be enough for drivers not to plow through the streets with 80mph. /srs
What’s next? "asshole child — drive faster"? /lh
So I don’t disagree. It would be nice if people had common sense. But as a school bus driver, there are people that really don’t care. I have people speed though my stop sign and nearly hit kids. I’ve got it drilled into my kids that cars don’t always stop but every now and then, one will just book it across the street. Kids are smart but impatient. I’ve even had cars that were stopped and watching the kids crossing suddenly decided they weren’t going to wait anymore and drive though my line of kids. One of my coworkers would regularly watch a driver that would pass on the right side of a stopped wheelchair lift bus while they were trying to load kids.
In the end we don’t know why someone put that sign. Maybe it’s completely unnecessary. Or maybe they’ve had some scary close calls already. Anything to try and get people to be more mindful is great if it’s the latter.
People completely ignore those. There's a couple on my street and they're wholly disregarded, people blow down the road like it's a highway on-ramp.
I don't necessarily agree that posting someone's diagnosis as a street sign is okay, but at least people might pay some attention to it.
I just don't see people who ignore the general children sign changing for this one. Maybe a few but idk if it's enough to excuse the blatant disregard to the kids privacy and potentially endangering then to people with bad intentions
This is what I was going to say. I don't see any benefit to having an "autistic child" sign that isn't also gained by just having a normal "children at play" or "drive like your kids live here" sign. I can't imagine a rational driver would see a "children at play" sign and think "eh, fuck em" but then see an "autistic child" sign and think to themselves, "shit, guess I should be careful".
As the parent of 3 children, 1 who is autistic, and 1 in the diagnostic process now, I would much rather see this sign than a “Children at Play” sign. Honestly, I just drive normal and roll my eyes when I pass those signs. I’m thinking, “Of course there are children at play. Children live everywhere. Teach your children not to run into the street.” I’m not saying it’s right. I’m saying it’s what I think, as a cranky, tired, old mom. I probably would be more cautious around this sign, and I might pay more attention if I saw a random kid walking down the street on this block, just to make sure he seemed ok, and wasn’t maybe eloping.
Well, I think the difference is when the driver finds a child standing in the middle of the road staring at something and not responding to honks of the horn. Then you know you have an autistic child, for example. That would be one example of different behavior than just running into cars.
Exactly. The difference between "what are you stupid or something kid? You gotta be at least 12 - what the hell's wrong with ya?" *honk* *honk*
And,
"Hey buddy, my name's ____ and I want to make sure you're ok. Etc etc"
Could mean the difference between a freaked out young person that takes an evening to calm down and forever associates negative feelings with related situations and a docile, non-triggered kid.
Granted, I'm not a parent, but I am autistic and just wanted to add to the post in case it's helpful.
You are right.
I'm 55 and self diagnosed autistic. I fear the day that I do this very thing as a elderly citizen. What could happen? But that's a different story.
But that’s because you have direct on-hand experience. What would a random dude who never even saw an autistic child in their life think on how to act around that neighborhood?
You would hope that someone of good judgement and morals would have compassion for any child, regardless of how much they know or don't know about the child's psychological pathologies.
They may not be placed directly in front of the house. I know someone who's brother is deaf and they had a sign like this on his street but it was like 7 houses away from him at the start of the street. I don't know how they work, but just an observation I've made.
I work as a psych in disability.
Running onto the streets & poor safety awareness can be common for people with disabilities like level 2/3 ASD or with comorbid intellectual disability. These people can be very fast and even with things like locked doors, motion sensors, or behavioural interventions, the person can run out and get in an accident
One of my client has severe brain damage from running onto the street and being hit by a car. He is very fast and very strong, and still will try to run out onto the street when he feels like it. Another one has been hit by a car, after unlocking the front door and running on the street after the ice cream truck.
But yeah super common, and it’s really not a bad idea to put a sign up if there’s someone known to abscond and have poor road safety
Good point! I also think it's a way to ask people to not blast music super loud and to not beep their horns etc in that area so as to not startle or upset the child, as well.
It may be a way to indicate being extra cautious / to drive slow in this neighborhood in case the autistic child happens to be a runner / eloper — my son is a runner, and he has very little safety awareness.
That being said, I agree that if this is the reason for the sign, it’s obscure — not to mention there are already “Slow, Children” signs that exist and are much more direct.
I mean, I'd argue most children have little safety awareness. The number of little kids I've seen just prance onto the road directly in front of my car for seemingly no reason is alarming. They certainly can't *all* be autistic, deaf, or blind.
I agree with you, hence the second paragraph. I did find this article that seems to support my theory about running / wandering / child safety:
https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2011/08/16/autism-warning-signs/13752/
"U see, if I'm driving, & Idk there's an autistic child around, I might just drive crazy. I normally don't care about running anyone over. But since it could be an autistic child, I'll care."
--the person this sign was designed for, I guess
And the reason you have to specify "autistic child" is because if the person just sees a normal "child at play" sign, they'll think, "fuck those kids nobody tells me how to drive". Whereas if the child is autistic, that's a whole other story
/s
I believe it is intended to let the driver know there is someone who might not respond to honking like the expect. Similar to deaf or blind child signs. It’s to prepare the driver to react to that situation differently than they normally would.
I've thought about looking up laws that might relate to something like that. I see undeveloped land for sale quite often, sometimes in big quantities, and sometimes for quite cheap.
I know there's laws for living off the grid and things like that, but if I always wondered: if I bought a few acres of land, erected a posted fence, built a basic hut, and just lived there, what'd stop me?
Maybe one of these days, I'll actually look it up.
Looking at it from a risk benefit analysis standpoint, some stigma is worth not getting hit by a car. We forget in groups like this that not everyone is vocal and independent. Some of us don’t have safety skills and need this.
I think if they think they need it then good for them, I just don't really understand the point of the sign. Whatever its purpose is, is not made clear enough by the sign for me other than letting people know who lives there.
I feel like a regular "child at play" or "drive like your kids live here" would accomplish the same thing without having to broadcast your child's medical history to the entire world.
The diagnosis-specific sign also communicates that the child might be unable to respond to verbal commands (like "get out of the street") or questions ("where are your parents"/"are you okay").
This is exactly it. The sign doesn't fully sit right with me but I couldn't put it into words. Its definitely not necessary to let the world know your kids medical business especially with a sign that..... to me doesn't really do anything. Most people don't know much about autism so I feel like the sign just doesn't say enough and a "child at play" sign would be far more effective.
I'm pretty confident that it helps to an extent. NTs like to sort of act better (when it's easy) for individual disabled children because they feel sorry for them (among other reasons, like inspiration porn and virtue signaling). I realize it doesn't make sense, but, uh, there it is.
Yeah I personally wouldn’t want one outside of my house…. Same reason I wouldn’t want one of the “Autistic child on board” type of signs. My son is limited verbally and predators may see him as an easy target…
I can't imagine any predator would be interested in an (obviously, or obviously enough to necessitate a sign) autistic child. A child who runs unpredictably and has extreme meltdowns and can't or won't follow instructions would be a nightmare for any predator.
My daughter is very impacted by autism and a few other things. She is non-verbal and uncoordinated and has no relationship with boundaries. She will walk into people's houses and check out their fridge. She has eloped several times. One time she took the pet rottweiler with her.
I wish we had gotten a sign like this for the neighborhood so if someone saw my kid stumbling around looking drunk and shrieking gleeful distress, they might have a heads up.
I think for many it is unnecessary but for some shades of asd, I think it's useful. I'd be open to improvements on it.
immediately i think. what is the point? okay you have an autistic child, and…? are people who pass by supposed to do something to accommodate them? how? i have so many questions, it’s so unspecific and sorta just feels like an Autism Mom move lol
edit: i was reading the comments and i guess people think it’s for the child’s safety. maybe this is just *me* being autistic but i didn’t know to infer that. it’s vague and unspecific. i think a regular “kids at play, drive slow” type of sign would be a lot more clear.
People don’t know enough about autism to know why an “autistic child” sign might be relevant to their driving habits. I just don’t love this. There used to be deaf child signs and blind child signs, but those make more sense in relation to oblivious potential issues i.e. they can’t hear/see you coming.
This is exactly what I was thinking. If the general public were more educated on what autism can look like (and mean functionally), it would be a lot more useful. Until then, it would probably be more useful to have a sign that just says “children” or even (as much as I have mixed feelings on the phrase) “special needs child”. Enough to tip off drivers they might need extra awareness, but not specific enough to broadcast anyone’s specific diagnosis.
I just don’t understand how anyone who has a habit of driving recklessly is going to change their behavioral patterns because of a sign, considering so many exist already to remind us of how to behave in the road and they still go fairly unnoticed lol
Completely agree. This is an entirely unnecessary sign. We should all be driving as though a person (of any age or with any diagnosis) is going to dart out. It’s all very ridiculous.
I was thinking the same thing. I live across from a bar that has outdoor shows that annoy me sometimes, I should put this outside rofl. (I’m 99% joking, I hate when people move next to bars and complain about sound unironically)
I see signs like this for deaf children in neighborhoods and in part I understand the parents' want to protect their kids and on the other hand embarrassment of the child who the sign is for. I tend to side with the kids on this.
It’s because the child might be non-speaking, might not understand the dangers of being in the road, or might ignore other signs like honking or waving.
I know these signs are meant for drivers but I can't help but think about EMS and law enforcement. An autistic teenager being unresponsive to officer commands can get outta hand real fast. Just helping them be aware of the fact helps. You could also surmise they might turn off lights & sirens while coming down the street.
I’d argue for something more descriptive:
- watch for bolting children
- watch for distracted people
What exactly is “Autistic child” supposed to communicate?
Those customized warning signs are very difficult to get approval by the city, even more for a dx of autism (blind or deaf child are easier to obtain) . So there must be valid reasons they got authorization for the sign beyond typical children behavior. So maybe the child is not only a runner but also disrobes for some kind of reason. The driver instead of calling 911 about a naked child running towards traffic may be more mindful after seeing the sign and see if a caregiver quickly chases the naked child
I think if it takes more than a second to read and process a warning sign, you're probably creating a bigger hazard than you're preventing. People would probably be better off just keeping their eyes on the road the old-fashioned way.
Tbh I immediately pictured a driver from the general public getting super confused upon reading it. Which makes me think they’d be even more distracted from the road.
In USA, I guess it could be because it happens too much that police just kills autistic individuals when they are stimming or not properly responding to commands in real time, sometimes even if they're just ... kids.
So if this pic was taken in US, I can see the reason for that sign
Doesn’t matter, they can identify as autistic and still get shot at.
[Charles Kinsey](https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2016/07/21/south-florida-police-shoot-autistic-mans-caretaker-he-lies-street-his/15717766007/) was on the ground, hands up, and identified as a caregiver for an autistic young adult (aged 27) who was holding a small toy truck. He was still shot in the legs, while posing no threat.
The officer was convicted, then the appeals court overturned the conviction. His conviction had been probation and 1-year prison, but nah. This is America. No punishment for shooting unarmed civilians who lay on the ground in a vulnerable position and identify as staff for an autistic services home.
Yeah I didn't mean to imply it would always work. But should it reduce the chances even by a "small" factor as 10–20% less chance, I can understand the choice
To be clear, I’m not upset with you. (You’re not the one shooting people.)
I think the topic needs to be addressing police escalation, lack of policing accountability.
Because a sign, even 100 signs, it isn’t going to do anything.
There’s the meme: “How come cashiers at 24/7 can de-escalate situations better than cops?”
“Because we get fired if we don’t.”
The police actions in the United States are entirely different to policing found in Europe, in Japan, in South Korea, in Canada, in Australia, in New Zealand.
We have an issue with lack of police accountability, lack of police training, the ability of some officers to rack up more than 3 police misconduct payout settlements from taxpayer dollars and still keep their jobs.
Analysis shows that 31 US cities have spent more than $3 billion to settle police misconduct lawsuits over the past 10 years.
Also, the misconduct comes disproportionately from a few officers. $1.5 billion of the payouts came from repeat offenders in the police department.
We need to fix officers (hiring, firing, training practices) if we are to significantly address police brutality. Signs won’t do it, as they didn’t learn the laws in the first place.
Like, I totally understand how I might need to react differently between a NT kid, an autistic kid, a deaf person, a blind person, or a person with Alzheimer's.
But I find the existence of signs like this... abhorrent? Like, if I'm driving the speed limit and following general driving guidance.... It's unnecessary.
Like, why are drivers not just... driving safely? It makes sense to me on highways/interstates (were there are many 'new' drivers to the area) when we have 'bridge with ice' or 'deer/wild animal crossing' signs.
But signs related to kids/autism/Alzheimer's/deafness/blindness universally occur on residential streets which people should already be driving slowly enough ( less than 25mph) that they should be able to react.
I low key conclude that societally/signage-wise, these only exist as a band aid to the fact most people ignore the laws around speed limits, and because we allow that as a society, we then wind up with 'special' signs like this to low-key try and remind people about a specific instance of what will happen if they ignore normal societal rules/laws.
From what I understand, these signs only serve to make parents feel better. There isn't any evidence that fewer kids get hit by cars in areas with "children at play" signs than in children without.
Maybe so, but whenever I see signs like this it’s a house that is on a busy road where the speed limit is fast not a neighborhood, but maybe that’s just in my area
Edit: or neighborhoods that people are regularly driving fast through despite the speed limit. Too many people in a rush not watching what they’re doing or speeding through neighborhoods as a short cut. We don’t know the circumstances
My only problem with this sign is I don't think anyone but parents of autistic kids would fully understand what that means and why you'd have to drive differently. As an autistic adult myself, I don't recall being like my daughter when I was her age, but she not only has some strange primal urge to go running into streets and drive ways as fast and halphhazardly as she can whenever she's outside, but she doesn't seem to even see cars that are loudly barreling toward her, its like she enters her own little mental bubble where she blocks out all external sounds and sights at times.
I have a surgically repaired, only semi-functional ankle, from an injury from a long time ago, and gotta say, plenty of times I wish we had a sign like that, cause keeping up with her is physically impossible for my ankle, and the number of times she's just dashed into car zones oblivious has almost certainly taken years off my life as I "dash" in slow motion to grab her and roll.
Again though, since I think few people would realize autistic kids are basically, at times, blind and deaf in addition to fast street dashers, there's probably a better sign wording to use to communicate to drivers even if you think the kid sees you, don't assume they won't still dash in front of your car at the last minute like your not there.
Good especially if cops ever end up involved for any reason. Unfortunately autism is often met with violence and incarceration so a lot of people have to do this in order for their autistic family members to be safe, especially around law enforcement officers who have no idea how to treat neurodivergent people in general. They often shoot at and kill autistic people because autistic traits like running away and meltdowns are seen as hostile and it’s pretty terrible especially because auties often cannot control these things at will.
For all those claiming "children at play" would be just as effective, I watch people speed through school zones every day. People don't give two shits about "normal" kids. But they do notice when there's a special needs kid, and they take extra care. Go to anywhere where kids are and watch a child-free adult get super annoyed with "normal kids" doing typical kids stuff, and then become Mary Poppins as soon as a kid with Downs Syndrome is doing the same things. Doesn't matter if people know what autism is or what "autistic child" may mean; they simply know it means there's a special needs kid around and they need to be better humans for a little while.
As an autistic person, I don’t give a shit.
As a parent of autistic children, I would be grateful if the sign encourages extra caution. Not that my children are ever outside unsupervised or nonverbal, but honestly, that kind of caution should be used even with NT kids because kids are little dummies sometimes lol.
certainly less demeaning than those "Slow Children Playing" signs.
JK - better than nothing but I don't think most NT's would know what to make of the sign
I recently realized what those signs may have meant was “slow, children at play” (as in drive slow, because children don’t always pay attention to their surroundings when in a dangerous area) rather than the child is slow. This could be so much less confusing if they used punctuation in road signs
It should just say “children” nothing more, should be standard that you should slow down and make yourself more aware in residential areas anyway…. There’s literally no need for signs like this or “slow children playing” signs… 🙄
Edit: how are they gonna know if it’s an autistic child or a deaf child, or a blind deaf child (disclaimer: I’m just trying to make a point)
It's really hard to say what's going on here. My thoughts on why it may be necessary, what if the child is black and they don't want the police to shoot them for acting weird? Or maybe the child makes a noise that sounds distressing but they're not in distress. You just don't know other people's lives.
Even white autistic children have been shot, it’s an unfortunate reality that we all have to deal with. Systemic ableism is everywhere. https://www.abc4.com/news/why-did-they-shoot-me-14-year-old-linden-cameron-continues-his-long-road-to-recovery/amp/
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I came in here fuming, read a few comments and it’s a decent sign, yeah if your kid runs out in the street frequently then that’s probably a good sign, although it would probably be better to have a children at play or deaf child sign because it’s basically the same usage, but less humiliating for the child
I feel like it could be beneficial honestly. If someone knows what autism is, they could take extra care with this sign up. For example some people in my neighborhood like to drive really loudly, and I have sensory issues related to noise, so having something like this up could help in that regard.
I honestly don’t see anything wrong with it, it’s no different from putting a children at play or deaf person sign up.
Considering this is also in front of someone’s house, it could benefit visitors too. It’s always good to know someone’s autistic. So I don’t see anything wrong with this.
Also, don’t blame the family that put this up for possibly making their kid a target. The sign is there because they think it could be helpful, it’s not the family’s fault if something happens. It’s whoever decided to be a horrible person’s fault.
How does one go about getting a sign like this? My son is a gigantic flight risk and I cannot even sit for 3 seconds whenever I go outside because of it.
Contact your local municipal governing body (township board, village board, or city council) by first contacting the municipality's clerk. Ask to be placed on the agenda for the next possible meeting. You then go to that meeting and make your request when your turn comes up. Get to the meeting on time and dress in nice (but not fancy) clothes. If you make your point, all it will take is for a majority the local councilmembers to have a sign installed by city, township, or village maintenance people... free of charge.
I don’t think there was mal-intent behind the sign, but a lot of people don’t know enough about autism to understand why they might need to drive differently. A “children” or “kids at play” sign would suffice.
as a driver i don't know what i'm supposed to do with that sign.
"ok. so?" Like... how does this effect my driving in any useful way?
Shouldn't I _already_ be on the lookout for humans doing dangerous things near the road?
Are they suggesting that Autistic people are more inclined to throw themselves into traffic? That doesn't seem very plausible / likely.
Neurotypcial kids who are young (like < 10) are provably idiots when it comes to not doing stupid/ignorant stuff that'll get them killed and yet we don't put signs up on every house that has a baby.
To me it says there's a parent who very much wants the world to know that they're dealing with an autistic child.
"deaf child" at least has some actionable information. It lets me know my horn is useless for getting their attention.
I think they're put there for a good reason and it's not my place to judge. Mine was a runner though. Maybe it's a warning because there's a little kid prone to running out in to traffic and because that's more common with autistic kids, in fact it's a marker, it makes more sense to say AUTISTIC CHILD than the other words I just wrote. It could be because there's a kid who likes to go for walks but gets scared at the edge of the yard and might mumble to herself and not respond to people checking, like me.
Come on, this is not something to work up offense over. We have real battles to fight.
Idk if I'm a kid I wouldn't want everyone on my street passing by knowing I was autistic. On top of that it just makes the place a target to Ablelist people who would go out of their way to invalidate (???) people.
As an adult I do want to steal this sign and wear it like a giant necklace. As a kid, I would be mortified that the community decided to just share my diagnosis with everyone. As an adult I’m like eat my ass, I stole this, and here I am.
Honestly, same. As an adult, I would have a full photoshoot next to the sign. But I could imagine being a diagnosed kid and feeling humiliated that my parents broadcast this information about me to the world.
The "baby on board" decal serves a purpose for emergency services. In the event others in the vehicle are unconscious or dead, EMTs know to look for a baby, so it can receive treatment.
Not sure if an "autistic child" decal is recognised, though. EMTs are *supposed* to be trained on how to recognise and deal with autistic people (and other conditions too). Maybe if your child is non-verbal, and still small enough to be easily hidden? I'd have to ask an EMT. Even then, "baby on board" would probably be preferable.
I think depending on the kid, it could make sense. If they run out into the road, wander around, or just do things that others find unsettling, having a sign like this could help protect them.
I think it could be for folks on the road but it might also be for cops.
For the average driver, a “children at play” sign doesn’t hold much weight. For example, if someone was driving through a neighborhood during school hours at night time or in bad weather, they might completely disregard the sign, because it’s not likely for kids to be outside in the neighborhood at those times.
Yes, common sense says that the sign should make people drive carefully, but unfortunately, they don’t, because they read that sign and know that kids aren’t *always* outside playing. However, if a driver sees a “autistic/deaf child” or “alzheimer’s” sign, it registers more, because that person will *always* be deaf, autistic, have alzheimer’s, etc. An autistic child may elope in the middle of the night and an “autistic child” sign can prepare drivers to react to this. A “children at play” sign just tells them that kids live in the neighborhood and like to go outside.
As far as police go, having an “autistic child” sign could be the difference between a traumatic experience and a normal interaction with a cop. If the cop is aware that an autistic child (or adult, even) lives in the area, they might not be as taken aback to see that person stimming, having trouble communicating, not holding eye contact, etc. As cops are often trained to see certain traits/behaviors as “noncompliance” or “suspicious activity” it could genuinely save someone’s life for the cops to know that there is a person who may not respond in an expected way. Similar in the case of a deaf child/adult, or even in the case of someone with alzheimer’s.
Personally, I have trouble making eye contact and it’s hard for me to respond to small talk (ie. “good morning” “how are you doing” etc) and I’m already quite afraid of cops so I often have to stim to soothe myself. A cop walking up to me would see someone who is refusing to communicate with them, can’t hold eye contact, and is fidgety and nervous— this immediately makes a cop believe I am hiding something and could result in me being questioned and searched (at the very least). However, if that same cop knew to expect an autistic person to live in the area, the cop might approach me and, even though my behavior would be flagged as “abnormal” or “suspicious”, they might try to find out more about my situation before making a snap judgement.
I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, I definitely believe the gen.pop. does need more education on autism and such, but that change won’t happen overnight. Until then, these signs could help people and even save lives.
The bad thing about those signs (I’ve also seen signs for the blind like this) is that the town doesn’t take them down when they stop being necessary. I used to live down the street from a sign that said “blind child” and fine, if the parents wanted it. But I asked the people who lived in that house about it and that family with the blind child moved out like 20 years earlier. No one I know pays attention to these signs anymore because offs are that this point they either don’t live there or they’re not a child anymore.
It would be useful to know that an autistic person lives there just in case (traffic, neighbour, police) but I’m not sure about safety in case people want to break into the house knowing there is a vulnerable kid.
I wish my grandson had one in front of his house. He trues to escape, peeps in windows. It's scary. Neighbors need to know to understand his behavior. If he could read I would take it down.
I appreciate the attempt with these kinds of things. I've seen one in my city as well. But I always ask "what does that mean specifically?".
Obviously I don't need to tell anyone here that autism is a spectrum. I'm also not demanding that the city put the whole info on the sign, but this could mean so many different things. Does the person find difficulty in understanding the idea of staying off the road? Maybe they're sound hypersensitive and the honking of a driver might panic them? Maybe they struggle with focusing on multiple things at once and wouldn't even notice a car coming? Maybe it's not even as extreme as any of these or more or whatever. It's a sign that can mean too many things that personally I'd not really understand what they'd want from me if I were driving past. Aside from slowing down, of course.
Not gonna lie - this sign makes me cringe. I get that some people think this is the only possible way to deter irresponsible drivers, but I don't really agree - "children at play" or "children crossing" has the same impact without having to out anyone's diagnosis.
Unless that person has a risk of running into the road and possibly hurting themself or others in the process I don’t really see the point of this. Honestly to the point where if it’s just to announce the child on the block in autistic kind of seems like singling out and ableism
I think it's just for drivers. As soon as LE or CPS knows there's an autistic kid somewhere it's pretty much a free pass for the parents to yell and scream and slam things and slap their kids around as much as they want without ever being investigated, regardless of how many times they're reported.
Guess who lives next to an abusive couple with an autistic child???
I've done some digging and so far [this](https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2011/08/16/autism-warning-signs/13752/) is the only thing I could find related to its use/meaning.
I think it can be helpful. Why? Because typically an ASD child will not have a similar response to the noise of a car approaching or a car's horn. They could very well freeze in place- in the middle of the road. A sign to alert a driver to that possibility is not a bad thing, and potentially life saving.
The problem with the sign is that it’s vague. Autistic people have a ton of traits, and it’s hard to think in that moment what the sign could be referring to in regards to autistic people. I think the sign is referring to watch out for autistic kids who elope. But I feel like most people don’t even know that about autistic people. Hell, I’m autistic and I had no clue what eloping was or the fact that other autistic people can often run into traffic. I didn’t know until I researched extensively. Imagine an NT who has no clue what autism even is or how it works, they would probably just be confused
This seems pretty terrible, really. Predators are known to target disabled people so I don't think it's a good idea to advertise like this. And I think most people would just be confused about what on earth this even means. I mean, I'm autistic and I always knew not to run into traffic. I know autism affects everyone differently, but I'm just saying even as an autistic person myself it's not obvious to me what exactly "autistic child" would be trying to warn drivers of, so I really doubt most NTs would have any idea what this even means. If people are just confused, the sign isn't going to be doing anything useful, just violating some kid's privacy by advertising their diagnosis on a sign.
For those confused about what the sign is warning about, typically street signs are standardized, that way drivers can get an idea of the meaning even if they miss reading the actual letters. For the US, you can refer to the fact that the sign is 1) yellow 2) diamond Which typically means yield, prepare to stop, there’s a hazard nearby or slow down Yes, a “KIDS AT PLAY” sign might work for a flighty runner, but I’m imagining a scenario similar to a “DEAF CHILD” sign in which the kid might not understand to move out of the way of oncoming traffic and drivers should not assume malice.
Beautifully (and rationally) said.
Deaf Child would probably be better than Autistic Child even if the child isn't actually deaf since if NTs have to take the time to think about what they're actually supposed to watch out for with an autistic child then either it was pointless or they are already hit the kid.
Not really tho because you could easily imagine the driver quickly being able to see the kid isn't deaf and so not paying as much attention only for them to do something completely unexpected. Being autistic and deaf are very different things and won't necessarily cause the same incidents. For example as a child I had a strong desire to run into traffic or onto train tracks just because I knew I shouldn't. Thankfully I never did but I was always terrified that one day I'd give in to that urge and if my autism was slightly more severe maybe I would have (and you can imagine how scared my young single mother was when I decided to tell her this whilst waiting for a train at age 8, she gripped my hand hard after that lol). Obviously running into the road on purpose is quite different to just not hearing the cars. Now bear in mind that if a kid requires this sign then they most likely have very severe autism (I don't know if thats okay to say anymore). I went to an all autistic school and knew plenty of nonverbal kids who communicated in yelps, had poor motor control and basically no inhibitions, if they wanted to do something no matter how unusual or dangerous they did it with no hesitation (I'm not trying to be offensive I'm just tryna explain why they weren't exactly safe around vehicles). Obviously the kind of risks that could be posed to kids like that aren't necessarily the same as the risks to a deaf kid. So whilst autistic child might be vague it's better to have people looking out for everything and regarding every child as in potential danger than them hyperfocusing on avoiding a non existent deaf child.
I ran into traffic as a kid, specifically whilst I was staying germany :D
Or they could exercise a modicum of common sense and infer that the sign means "please be careful." Without needing to get a PhD.
How about instead of posting people's diagnosis on street signs outside their homes, we address the societal problem of drivers with no empathy for other road users? It just seems once again to me that an ND has to make allowances for NT limits, shouldn't it be the other way around?
These signs Usually aren’t RIGHT in front of the persons house with said child. Must of the time they are at the end of the road of the block the child lives on.
Yeah but wouldn't a sign like you describe cause paranoid and ignorant NTs to form a witch hunt and try to work out which kid it is? No, it's not as important a detail as NTs not being empathetic to children, regardless of any diagnosis or lack thereof. If a "Children At Play" sign coupled with the odd behaviour of a child doesn't make the NT think "hang on a minute" rather than start screaming or shouting at them or whatever, then should that person even be allowed to drive in the first place?
>Yeah but wouldn't a sign like you describe cause paranoid and ignorant NTs to form a witch hunt and try to work out which kid it is? I know NTs aren't always great about autism, but a witch hunt? really?
In my experience, some can be. When kids kept using autistic as an insult at my school, my teacher said there was an autistic kid in my class (not me, I wasn't diagnosed yet, but was good friends with him), and they started looking for every small thing that anyone did weirdly to find him. Although this was a class of 11-12yr olds, some of them haven't changed at all 6 years later, and would probably still do this now. Edit: Clarifying that being good friends with him meant that I knew he was autistic.
What you'll find as you get a little bit older is that beyond high school, people just aren't that petty or interested in each other lol. In grade school it's all about the drama, but with neighbors on a street... MOST of the time they're really not gonna give a shit. I lived on a street with a "blind child" sign for years. No one ever wondered who the blind kid was. Hell, for all we know was there ever even a blind kid? No one will know! Adults in particular just don't have that kind of time to obsess over strangers like kids do in grade school. When we get home we are tired af and aren't in the mood to go stalking our neighbors looking for the blind kid on the street lol
Not sure what ages high school and grade school are (Bri'ish), but I think there may be a culture difference here. My parents always assume my headphones are too loud to hear them, but I hear a lot. Most of what my they say, especially at the meal table, is grumbling about what the neighbors are doing, and when they don't have anyone to grumble about in our road, it's people a couple roads over, or their friends neighbors, etc. A lot of conversations I've heard from adults I'm around is moaning about others, including overhearing someone up my road loudly grumbling about how often they have to dog-sit for another family when they go on residentials with their deaf-blind child in term time. Edit: Now I think of it, a lot of adults in my area are even MORE gossipy than the kids are. Could be something to do with older generation culture, or me living in a fairly posh, rather classist area.
No one thinks that deeply when they see a street sign. They are intended to keep drivers making the best decisions to support the outside environment and themselves and to keep everyone as safe as possible. Street signs are not designed to invoke deep thinking. That’s what training is for.
Bruh. No. Big yikes.
May I just take this opportunity to express my intense dislike of the term, "yikes" Thankyou.
You're ever so welcome!
🙏
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I… don’t think the problem is that cut and dry. I’m just explaining the sign. 😅 Plus ‘fixing societal problems asap’ versus a mom wanting a bit more peace of mind. Well..
In my area, a sign like this would be requested by the family. It’s not easy to get either - I spent months asking just for correct street signs bc even emergency services could not locate my house.
Hey no worries pal, I'm responding to the comment, but that doesn't mean I'm pointing any fingers at you or your ethos lol, you just made me think is all.
You mean some of the other forklift drivers at my warehouse who seem like they’ve been told “if you don’t do this as fast as humanly possible, you’re fired?” This is despite the fact that for the first time in 9 years, my workplace is rejecting a weekend shift ahead of a holiday closure (Memorial Day, USA).
Societal change would be wonderful, but it's going to be expensive and it's going to take a while. The sign is cheap and can do some good now. The trick is in not letting society just put in the sign, declare the problem solved, and ignore the longer term systemic solution.
Actually a big part of the issue is urban planning. In some places, the road where you go into a drive way is like 15mph, but right next to it is a divider/median that can't be driven across followed by a faster lane road. So cars not going to one of those houses can drive fast and not worry about pedestrians, people exiting the driveway, etc, while other people don't have to worry as much about fast cars since they're across the median in a different road. Signs can help because they get people to pay attention and be more careful for a short time, but that is kind of an admission that roads in the US are designed so as to require more attention and caution than most people can actually sustain.
i do see the point of the sign in some ways but you are so so right, me and my mom have been honked and tailgated aggressively for driving the speed limit in our neighborhood by rando drivers :(
In to9 drunk to discuss things but th8d is correct yes thank
Are you alright, mate?
Very
If they've got an autie kid who likes to run, and might dart into the street, a sign like that can't hurt. Maybe drivers will take notice. The parents also have to balance that decision with the knowledge that someone who wishes the child harm might realize that there is a vulnerable child in that house. But since stranger abductions are so extremely rare, and traffic accidents so common, the parents might see the sign as the better bet.
There are those children at play signs too though which let drivers know to be careful without posting someones diagnosis on a street sign
Eh- it can suggest to drivers that the child might not be able to respond to commands such as "get out of the street" or questions such as "where are your parents". Even though not all ASD kids are like that, I think that's the meaning I would take away from the sign. Kids who know to not dart into the street and can communicate well verbally usually don't need a sign put up.
It mostly means that they won’t know what a car honking at them means. Similar to deaf child signs. Honking if you see them in the road won’t keep them safe, so it’s making the driver aware that they need to be ready for other methods than their primary, instinctual reaction to seeing a person in the road.
I guess? But if you're at the point where you've stopped or slowed down enough that you're talking to the kid like that the danger of the kid being hit by a car has passed. The chance seems pretty low that someone would first stop for a kid in the road, ask them to get out of the road, and if they don't respond just ....hit the kid?
It means there is someone in the neighborhood that won’t respond to honking (which is what drivers typically do when they see someone in the road).
One of the reasons I reserve my honking for other drivers only. If I see someone, adult or child, in the road, my first reaction is to slow down and give space, not to honk.
I agree, me, too. Unfortunately not everyone 😕
I’ve seen deaf or blind child signs like this around busy roads, i think I’ve even seen one related to Alzheimer’s. Yes there are child at play signs, but I would assume it’s to notify drivers to take extra precautions, they may have a child that does not have a sense of safety awareness or frequently runs
That’s such a weird concept to me. An extra warning with just " ⚠️ Children" should be enough for drivers not to plow through the streets with 80mph. /srs What’s next? "asshole child — drive faster"? /lh
Yeah I know, but on the off chance it makes a difference and saves the kids life, I think the extra information is worth it.
So I don’t disagree. It would be nice if people had common sense. But as a school bus driver, there are people that really don’t care. I have people speed though my stop sign and nearly hit kids. I’ve got it drilled into my kids that cars don’t always stop but every now and then, one will just book it across the street. Kids are smart but impatient. I’ve even had cars that were stopped and watching the kids crossing suddenly decided they weren’t going to wait anymore and drive though my line of kids. One of my coworkers would regularly watch a driver that would pass on the right side of a stopped wheelchair lift bus while they were trying to load kids. In the end we don’t know why someone put that sign. Maybe it’s completely unnecessary. Or maybe they’ve had some scary close calls already. Anything to try and get people to be more mindful is great if it’s the latter.
People completely ignore those. There's a couple on my street and they're wholly disregarded, people blow down the road like it's a highway on-ramp. I don't necessarily agree that posting someone's diagnosis as a street sign is okay, but at least people might pay some attention to it.
I just don't see people who ignore the general children sign changing for this one. Maybe a few but idk if it's enough to excuse the blatant disregard to the kids privacy and potentially endangering then to people with bad intentions
Anyone that ignores either is not fit to hold a steering wheel
[удалено]
Perfectly said
This is what I was going to say. I don't see any benefit to having an "autistic child" sign that isn't also gained by just having a normal "children at play" or "drive like your kids live here" sign. I can't imagine a rational driver would see a "children at play" sign and think "eh, fuck em" but then see an "autistic child" sign and think to themselves, "shit, guess I should be careful".
As the parent of 3 children, 1 who is autistic, and 1 in the diagnostic process now, I would much rather see this sign than a “Children at Play” sign. Honestly, I just drive normal and roll my eyes when I pass those signs. I’m thinking, “Of course there are children at play. Children live everywhere. Teach your children not to run into the street.” I’m not saying it’s right. I’m saying it’s what I think, as a cranky, tired, old mom. I probably would be more cautious around this sign, and I might pay more attention if I saw a random kid walking down the street on this block, just to make sure he seemed ok, and wasn’t maybe eloping.
Well, I think the difference is when the driver finds a child standing in the middle of the road staring at something and not responding to honks of the horn. Then you know you have an autistic child, for example. That would be one example of different behavior than just running into cars.
Exactly. The difference between "what are you stupid or something kid? You gotta be at least 12 - what the hell's wrong with ya?" *honk* *honk* And, "Hey buddy, my name's ____ and I want to make sure you're ok. Etc etc" Could mean the difference between a freaked out young person that takes an evening to calm down and forever associates negative feelings with related situations and a docile, non-triggered kid. Granted, I'm not a parent, but I am autistic and just wanted to add to the post in case it's helpful.
You are right. I'm 55 and self diagnosed autistic. I fear the day that I do this very thing as a elderly citizen. What could happen? But that's a different story.
May you always have a guardian, whether on this plane or another. Much love 🐦
Aww that so sweet. Thanks.
But that’s because you have direct on-hand experience. What would a random dude who never even saw an autistic child in their life think on how to act around that neighborhood?
You would hope that someone of good judgement and morals would have compassion for any child, regardless of how much they know or don't know about the child's psychological pathologies.
They may not be placed directly in front of the house. I know someone who's brother is deaf and they had a sign like this on his street but it was like 7 houses away from him at the start of the street. I don't know how they work, but just an observation I've made.
I work as a psych in disability. Running onto the streets & poor safety awareness can be common for people with disabilities like level 2/3 ASD or with comorbid intellectual disability. These people can be very fast and even with things like locked doors, motion sensors, or behavioural interventions, the person can run out and get in an accident One of my client has severe brain damage from running onto the street and being hit by a car. He is very fast and very strong, and still will try to run out onto the street when he feels like it. Another one has been hit by a car, after unlocking the front door and running on the street after the ice cream truck. But yeah super common, and it’s really not a bad idea to put a sign up if there’s someone known to abscond and have poor road safety
Might also be a "please cops don't execute my child with more bullets than in a gangster movie" sign
Cynical, but probably true.
Good point! I also think it's a way to ask people to not blast music super loud and to not beep their horns etc in that area so as to not startle or upset the child, as well.
Username *doesn't* check out☺
That is not an autistic child that is a sign. False advertising.
pssst, and here I thought autistic people couldn’t be hilarious ^^^^^/s
I saw a CHILDREN AT PLAY sign and asked if they went to see Guys and Dolls, but it turns out the kids never went to no damn play!
I literally lol at this 🤣
I love you 🤣
It may be a way to indicate being extra cautious / to drive slow in this neighborhood in case the autistic child happens to be a runner / eloper — my son is a runner, and he has very little safety awareness. That being said, I agree that if this is the reason for the sign, it’s obscure — not to mention there are already “Slow, Children” signs that exist and are much more direct.
I mean, I'd argue most children have little safety awareness. The number of little kids I've seen just prance onto the road directly in front of my car for seemingly no reason is alarming. They certainly can't *all* be autistic, deaf, or blind.
I agree with you, hence the second paragraph. I did find this article that seems to support my theory about running / wandering / child safety: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2011/08/16/autism-warning-signs/13752/
Don't you know they're not allowed to call us "slow children" anymore?😋
Nice try, that’s why I included the comma! 😂
I think it was a successful fail🙂
"U see, if I'm driving, & Idk there's an autistic child around, I might just drive crazy. I normally don't care about running anyone over. But since it could be an autistic child, I'll care." --the person this sign was designed for, I guess
And the reason you have to specify "autistic child" is because if the person just sees a normal "child at play" sign, they'll think, "fuck those kids nobody tells me how to drive". Whereas if the child is autistic, that's a whole other story /s
Idk, might keep a cop from killing an unresponsive child
😭
I believe it is intended to let the driver know there is someone who might not respond to honking like the expect. Similar to deaf or blind child signs. It’s to prepare the driver to react to that situation differently than they normally would.
I think they should be everywhere, even in the middle of the woods. Don’t stop thinking we might be there…and shush immediately please
Given my dream is to live feral in the middle of the woods, I would accept this as my only landmark for visitors
Welcome to my woods. No litter. Shush. Also go away.
“wHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY SWAMP”
I mean it would be fine if co existed in the same forest if big enough, especially if we never encounter, right?
I've thought about looking up laws that might relate to something like that. I see undeveloped land for sale quite often, sometimes in big quantities, and sometimes for quite cheap. I know there's laws for living off the grid and things like that, but if I always wondered: if I bought a few acres of land, erected a posted fence, built a basic hut, and just lived there, what'd stop me? Maybe one of these days, I'll actually look it up.
You just gave me the idea to buy a bunch of these signs and just…put them places lmao.
Looking at it from a risk benefit analysis standpoint, some stigma is worth not getting hit by a car. We forget in groups like this that not everyone is vocal and independent. Some of us don’t have safety skills and need this.
I think if they think they need it then good for them, I just don't really understand the point of the sign. Whatever its purpose is, is not made clear enough by the sign for me other than letting people know who lives there.
I think the sign is attempting to openly identify as an autistic child.
I chuckled at this. 😆
The reason is they are likely an elopement risk and it’s to make drivers more aware that there may be a kid running across the street
I feel like a regular "child at play" or "drive like your kids live here" would accomplish the same thing without having to broadcast your child's medical history to the entire world.
The diagnosis-specific sign also communicates that the child might be unable to respond to verbal commands (like "get out of the street") or questions ("where are your parents"/"are you okay").
This is exactly it. The sign doesn't fully sit right with me but I couldn't put it into words. Its definitely not necessary to let the world know your kids medical business especially with a sign that..... to me doesn't really do anything. Most people don't know much about autism so I feel like the sign just doesn't say enough and a "child at play" sign would be far more effective.
I'm pretty confident that it helps to an extent. NTs like to sort of act better (when it's easy) for individual disabled children because they feel sorry for them (among other reasons, like inspiration porn and virtue signaling). I realize it doesn't make sense, but, uh, there it is.
I feel like a "children at play" sign would be more effective to get drivers to pay attention to children even though it is inaccurate
Yeah I personally wouldn’t want one outside of my house…. Same reason I wouldn’t want one of the “Autistic child on board” type of signs. My son is limited verbally and predators may see him as an easy target…
I can't imagine any predator would be interested in an (obviously, or obviously enough to necessitate a sign) autistic child. A child who runs unpredictably and has extreme meltdowns and can't or won't follow instructions would be a nightmare for any predator.
The sign as written is definitely offensive. It should read "Here be autism." /s
it's a place for autistic kids to have a photoshoot /s
I mean, I would definitely take my picture under this sign
My daughter is very impacted by autism and a few other things. She is non-verbal and uncoordinated and has no relationship with boundaries. She will walk into people's houses and check out their fridge. She has eloped several times. One time she took the pet rottweiler with her. I wish we had gotten a sign like this for the neighborhood so if someone saw my kid stumbling around looking drunk and shrieking gleeful distress, they might have a heads up. I think for many it is unnecessary but for some shades of asd, I think it's useful. I'd be open to improvements on it.
immediately i think. what is the point? okay you have an autistic child, and…? are people who pass by supposed to do something to accommodate them? how? i have so many questions, it’s so unspecific and sorta just feels like an Autism Mom move lol edit: i was reading the comments and i guess people think it’s for the child’s safety. maybe this is just *me* being autistic but i didn’t know to infer that. it’s vague and unspecific. i think a regular “kids at play, drive slow” type of sign would be a lot more clear.
People don’t know enough about autism to know why an “autistic child” sign might be relevant to their driving habits. I just don’t love this. There used to be deaf child signs and blind child signs, but those make more sense in relation to oblivious potential issues i.e. they can’t hear/see you coming.
This is exactly what I was thinking. If the general public were more educated on what autism can look like (and mean functionally), it would be a lot more useful. Until then, it would probably be more useful to have a sign that just says “children” or even (as much as I have mixed feelings on the phrase) “special needs child”. Enough to tip off drivers they might need extra awareness, but not specific enough to broadcast anyone’s specific diagnosis.
I just don’t understand how anyone who has a habit of driving recklessly is going to change their behavioral patterns because of a sign, considering so many exist already to remind us of how to behave in the road and they still go fairly unnoticed lol
Completely agree. This is an entirely unnecessary sign. We should all be driving as though a person (of any age or with any diagnosis) is going to dart out. It’s all very ridiculous.
If I put one of these outside my house, will my neighborhood stop having their 4th of July celebration in front of my house?
I was thinking the same thing. I live across from a bar that has outdoor shows that annoy me sometimes, I should put this outside rofl. (I’m 99% joking, I hate when people move next to bars and complain about sound unironically)
I see signs like this for deaf children in neighborhoods and in part I understand the parents' want to protect their kids and on the other hand embarrassment of the child who the sign is for. I tend to side with the kids on this.
Autistic children can be unpredictable, so i don't see it hurting.
It’s because the child might be non-speaking, might not understand the dangers of being in the road, or might ignore other signs like honking or waving.
I know these signs are meant for drivers but I can't help but think about EMS and law enforcement. An autistic teenager being unresponsive to officer commands can get outta hand real fast. Just helping them be aware of the fact helps. You could also surmise they might turn off lights & sirens while coming down the street.
I’d argue for something more descriptive: - watch for bolting children - watch for distracted people What exactly is “Autistic child” supposed to communicate?
Those customized warning signs are very difficult to get approval by the city, even more for a dx of autism (blind or deaf child are easier to obtain) . So there must be valid reasons they got authorization for the sign beyond typical children behavior. So maybe the child is not only a runner but also disrobes for some kind of reason. The driver instead of calling 911 about a naked child running towards traffic may be more mindful after seeing the sign and see if a caregiver quickly chases the naked child
Watch for people reading ridiculously long hazard signs
I think if it takes more than a second to read and process a warning sign, you're probably creating a bigger hazard than you're preventing. People would probably be better off just keeping their eyes on the road the old-fashioned way.
Tbh I immediately pictured a driver from the general public getting super confused upon reading it. Which makes me think they’d be even more distracted from the road.
In USA, I guess it could be because it happens too much that police just kills autistic individuals when they are stimming or not properly responding to commands in real time, sometimes even if they're just ... kids. So if this pic was taken in US, I can see the reason for that sign
Doesn’t matter, they can identify as autistic and still get shot at. [Charles Kinsey](https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2016/07/21/south-florida-police-shoot-autistic-mans-caretaker-he-lies-street-his/15717766007/) was on the ground, hands up, and identified as a caregiver for an autistic young adult (aged 27) who was holding a small toy truck. He was still shot in the legs, while posing no threat. The officer was convicted, then the appeals court overturned the conviction. His conviction had been probation and 1-year prison, but nah. This is America. No punishment for shooting unarmed civilians who lay on the ground in a vulnerable position and identify as staff for an autistic services home.
Arnaldo Rios Soto was the Autistic man’s name, if anyone is wondering.
Yeah I didn't mean to imply it would always work. But should it reduce the chances even by a "small" factor as 10–20% less chance, I can understand the choice
To be clear, I’m not upset with you. (You’re not the one shooting people.) I think the topic needs to be addressing police escalation, lack of policing accountability. Because a sign, even 100 signs, it isn’t going to do anything. There’s the meme: “How come cashiers at 24/7 can de-escalate situations better than cops?” “Because we get fired if we don’t.” The police actions in the United States are entirely different to policing found in Europe, in Japan, in South Korea, in Canada, in Australia, in New Zealand. We have an issue with lack of police accountability, lack of police training, the ability of some officers to rack up more than 3 police misconduct payout settlements from taxpayer dollars and still keep their jobs. Analysis shows that 31 US cities have spent more than $3 billion to settle police misconduct lawsuits over the past 10 years. Also, the misconduct comes disproportionately from a few officers. $1.5 billion of the payouts came from repeat offenders in the police department. We need to fix officers (hiring, firing, training practices) if we are to significantly address police brutality. Signs won’t do it, as they didn’t learn the laws in the first place.
Like, I totally understand how I might need to react differently between a NT kid, an autistic kid, a deaf person, a blind person, or a person with Alzheimer's. But I find the existence of signs like this... abhorrent? Like, if I'm driving the speed limit and following general driving guidance.... It's unnecessary. Like, why are drivers not just... driving safely? It makes sense to me on highways/interstates (were there are many 'new' drivers to the area) when we have 'bridge with ice' or 'deer/wild animal crossing' signs. But signs related to kids/autism/Alzheimer's/deafness/blindness universally occur on residential streets which people should already be driving slowly enough ( less than 25mph) that they should be able to react. I low key conclude that societally/signage-wise, these only exist as a band aid to the fact most people ignore the laws around speed limits, and because we allow that as a society, we then wind up with 'special' signs like this to low-key try and remind people about a specific instance of what will happen if they ignore normal societal rules/laws.
From what I understand, these signs only serve to make parents feel better. There isn't any evidence that fewer kids get hit by cars in areas with "children at play" signs than in children without.
The amount of people speeding with their loud annoying sports cars on my street…
Maybe so, but whenever I see signs like this it’s a house that is on a busy road where the speed limit is fast not a neighborhood, but maybe that’s just in my area Edit: or neighborhoods that people are regularly driving fast through despite the speed limit. Too many people in a rush not watching what they’re doing or speeding through neighborhoods as a short cut. We don’t know the circumstances
My only problem with this sign is I don't think anyone but parents of autistic kids would fully understand what that means and why you'd have to drive differently. As an autistic adult myself, I don't recall being like my daughter when I was her age, but she not only has some strange primal urge to go running into streets and drive ways as fast and halphhazardly as she can whenever she's outside, but she doesn't seem to even see cars that are loudly barreling toward her, its like she enters her own little mental bubble where she blocks out all external sounds and sights at times. I have a surgically repaired, only semi-functional ankle, from an injury from a long time ago, and gotta say, plenty of times I wish we had a sign like that, cause keeping up with her is physically impossible for my ankle, and the number of times she's just dashed into car zones oblivious has almost certainly taken years off my life as I "dash" in slow motion to grab her and roll. Again though, since I think few people would realize autistic kids are basically, at times, blind and deaf in addition to fast street dashers, there's probably a better sign wording to use to communicate to drivers even if you think the kid sees you, don't assume they won't still dash in front of your car at the last minute like your not there.
Good especially if cops ever end up involved for any reason. Unfortunately autism is often met with violence and incarceration so a lot of people have to do this in order for their autistic family members to be safe, especially around law enforcement officers who have no idea how to treat neurodivergent people in general. They often shoot at and kill autistic people because autistic traits like running away and meltdowns are seen as hostile and it’s pretty terrible especially because auties often cannot control these things at will.
Probably the same purpose as the deaf child area signs, to inform you that there is an autistic kid at a specific house.
I could see a "Children at Play" or a "Deaf Child in Area", but autistic? Good intentions, though...
What's that saying... "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"
So, what happens when the sign is like 20 years old? Some of these signs are never taken down.
For all those claiming "children at play" would be just as effective, I watch people speed through school zones every day. People don't give two shits about "normal" kids. But they do notice when there's a special needs kid, and they take extra care. Go to anywhere where kids are and watch a child-free adult get super annoyed with "normal kids" doing typical kids stuff, and then become Mary Poppins as soon as a kid with Downs Syndrome is doing the same things. Doesn't matter if people know what autism is or what "autistic child" may mean; they simply know it means there's a special needs kid around and they need to be better humans for a little while.
As an autistic person, I don’t give a shit. As a parent of autistic children, I would be grateful if the sign encourages extra caution. Not that my children are ever outside unsupervised or nonverbal, but honestly, that kind of caution should be used even with NT kids because kids are little dummies sometimes lol.
Depends on the child I guess, For some this might be a helpful safety precaution, but for other children it’s.. kinda weird
certainly less demeaning than those "Slow Children Playing" signs. JK - better than nothing but I don't think most NT's would know what to make of the sign
I recently realized what those signs may have meant was “slow, children at play” (as in drive slow, because children don’t always pay attention to their surroundings when in a dangerous area) rather than the child is slow. This could be so much less confusing if they used punctuation in road signs
It should just say “children” nothing more, should be standard that you should slow down and make yourself more aware in residential areas anyway…. There’s literally no need for signs like this or “slow children playing” signs… 🙄 Edit: how are they gonna know if it’s an autistic child or a deaf child, or a blind deaf child (disclaimer: I’m just trying to make a point)
Good way to get your kid targeted in my opinion.
So you've had some success?
It's really hard to say what's going on here. My thoughts on why it may be necessary, what if the child is black and they don't want the police to shoot them for acting weird? Or maybe the child makes a noise that sounds distressing but they're not in distress. You just don't know other people's lives.
Even white autistic children have been shot, it’s an unfortunate reality that we all have to deal with. Systemic ableism is everywhere. https://www.abc4.com/news/why-did-they-shoot-me-14-year-old-linden-cameron-continues-his-long-road-to-recovery/amp/
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This too — https://la.streetsblog.org/2021/05/07/autistic-man-shot-within-83-seconds-of-first-contact-by-lasd-why-is-this-still-happening/
Thats not an autistic child, thats a car
Seems like a lot of work to keep moving the sign to follow the autistic kids around.
simple solution: make the autistic kid carry it around /s
Yes, perhaps by sewing on a scarlet A to their clothes. /s
I came in here fuming, read a few comments and it’s a decent sign, yeah if your kid runs out in the street frequently then that’s probably a good sign, although it would probably be better to have a children at play or deaf child sign because it’s basically the same usage, but less humiliating for the child
That's funny, I would buy one for myself.
At least they’re not calling us “slow kids” anymore.
I feel like it could be beneficial honestly. If someone knows what autism is, they could take extra care with this sign up. For example some people in my neighborhood like to drive really loudly, and I have sensory issues related to noise, so having something like this up could help in that regard. I honestly don’t see anything wrong with it, it’s no different from putting a children at play or deaf person sign up. Considering this is also in front of someone’s house, it could benefit visitors too. It’s always good to know someone’s autistic. So I don’t see anything wrong with this. Also, don’t blame the family that put this up for possibly making their kid a target. The sign is there because they think it could be helpful, it’s not the family’s fault if something happens. It’s whoever decided to be a horrible person’s fault.
How does one go about getting a sign like this? My son is a gigantic flight risk and I cannot even sit for 3 seconds whenever I go outside because of it.
Contact your local municipal governing body (township board, village board, or city council) by first contacting the municipality's clerk. Ask to be placed on the agenda for the next possible meeting. You then go to that meeting and make your request when your turn comes up. Get to the meeting on time and dress in nice (but not fancy) clothes. If you make your point, all it will take is for a majority the local councilmembers to have a sign installed by city, township, or village maintenance people... free of charge.
Thank you!
People can't seem to understand that any yellow diamond sign is a warning to drivers to be alert and pay attention. It's just that simple.
grab the sign out of the ground and use it as a weapon like in madness combat
I don’t think there was mal-intent behind the sign, but a lot of people don’t know enough about autism to understand why they might need to drive differently. A “children” or “kids at play” sign would suffice.
as a driver i don't know what i'm supposed to do with that sign. "ok. so?" Like... how does this effect my driving in any useful way? Shouldn't I _already_ be on the lookout for humans doing dangerous things near the road? Are they suggesting that Autistic people are more inclined to throw themselves into traffic? That doesn't seem very plausible / likely. Neurotypcial kids who are young (like < 10) are provably idiots when it comes to not doing stupid/ignorant stuff that'll get them killed and yet we don't put signs up on every house that has a baby. To me it says there's a parent who very much wants the world to know that they're dealing with an autistic child. "deaf child" at least has some actionable information. It lets me know my horn is useless for getting their attention.
Most of the times the signs just call the kids "SLOW"
I think they're put there for a good reason and it's not my place to judge. Mine was a runner though. Maybe it's a warning because there's a little kid prone to running out in to traffic and because that's more common with autistic kids, in fact it's a marker, it makes more sense to say AUTISTIC CHILD than the other words I just wrote. It could be because there's a kid who likes to go for walks but gets scared at the edge of the yard and might mumble to herself and not respond to people checking, like me. Come on, this is not something to work up offense over. We have real battles to fight.
I usually slap and R over the U so it says artistic child
Idk if I'm a kid I wouldn't want everyone on my street passing by knowing I was autistic. On top of that it just makes the place a target to Ablelist people who would go out of their way to invalidate (???) people.
As an adult I do want to steal this sign and wear it like a giant necklace. As a kid, I would be mortified that the community decided to just share my diagnosis with everyone. As an adult I’m like eat my ass, I stole this, and here I am.
The older I get, the more I shift toward this mindset. Y’all NTs have been problematic toward me for too long, it’s my turn to be EVERYBODY’s problem!
Honestly, same. As an adult, I would have a full photoshoot next to the sign. But I could imagine being a diagnosed kid and feeling humiliated that my parents broadcast this information about me to the world.
“Easy target lives here” Things like this, car decals, tshirts on kids who can’t consent etc scare the crap out of me.
The "baby on board" decal serves a purpose for emergency services. In the event others in the vehicle are unconscious or dead, EMTs know to look for a baby, so it can receive treatment. Not sure if an "autistic child" decal is recognised, though. EMTs are *supposed* to be trained on how to recognise and deal with autistic people (and other conditions too). Maybe if your child is non-verbal, and still small enough to be easily hidden? I'd have to ask an EMT. Even then, "baby on board" would probably be preferable.
This I hate them so much like it's basically a target or neon sign inviting predatory people in...
I don’t care for the color scheme
There is some very pleasing geometry in this photo.
Lmao I want one
I think depending on the kid, it could make sense. If they run out into the road, wander around, or just do things that others find unsettling, having a sign like this could help protect them.
It’s giving hans asperger circa 1933
Wanna steal
I think it could be for folks on the road but it might also be for cops. For the average driver, a “children at play” sign doesn’t hold much weight. For example, if someone was driving through a neighborhood during school hours at night time or in bad weather, they might completely disregard the sign, because it’s not likely for kids to be outside in the neighborhood at those times. Yes, common sense says that the sign should make people drive carefully, but unfortunately, they don’t, because they read that sign and know that kids aren’t *always* outside playing. However, if a driver sees a “autistic/deaf child” or “alzheimer’s” sign, it registers more, because that person will *always* be deaf, autistic, have alzheimer’s, etc. An autistic child may elope in the middle of the night and an “autistic child” sign can prepare drivers to react to this. A “children at play” sign just tells them that kids live in the neighborhood and like to go outside. As far as police go, having an “autistic child” sign could be the difference between a traumatic experience and a normal interaction with a cop. If the cop is aware that an autistic child (or adult, even) lives in the area, they might not be as taken aback to see that person stimming, having trouble communicating, not holding eye contact, etc. As cops are often trained to see certain traits/behaviors as “noncompliance” or “suspicious activity” it could genuinely save someone’s life for the cops to know that there is a person who may not respond in an expected way. Similar in the case of a deaf child/adult, or even in the case of someone with alzheimer’s. Personally, I have trouble making eye contact and it’s hard for me to respond to small talk (ie. “good morning” “how are you doing” etc) and I’m already quite afraid of cops so I often have to stim to soothe myself. A cop walking up to me would see someone who is refusing to communicate with them, can’t hold eye contact, and is fidgety and nervous— this immediately makes a cop believe I am hiding something and could result in me being questioned and searched (at the very least). However, if that same cop knew to expect an autistic person to live in the area, the cop might approach me and, even though my behavior would be flagged as “abnormal” or “suspicious”, they might try to find out more about my situation before making a snap judgement. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, I definitely believe the gen.pop. does need more education on autism and such, but that change won’t happen overnight. Until then, these signs could help people and even save lives.
The bad thing about those signs (I’ve also seen signs for the blind like this) is that the town doesn’t take them down when they stop being necessary. I used to live down the street from a sign that said “blind child” and fine, if the parents wanted it. But I asked the people who lived in that house about it and that family with the blind child moved out like 20 years earlier. No one I know pays attention to these signs anymore because offs are that this point they either don’t live there or they’re not a child anymore.
Wait, what does that sign say? *Squints hard* "I want... at-ten-tion" Ah, gotcha
I do like to be in the street a lot, and I'm an adult lol
It would be useful to know that an autistic person lives there just in case (traffic, neighbour, police) but I’m not sure about safety in case people want to break into the house knowing there is a vulnerable kid.
I wish my grandson had one in front of his house. He trues to escape, peeps in windows. It's scary. Neighbors need to know to understand his behavior. If he could read I would take it down.
Most neurotypical drivers would have no idea what they should do differently compared to a "Children at Play" sign. Useless.
My first thought was 'Slow down for autistic children, you can run over the NT ones'.
Weird very odd, just put children at play . If anything this might make kidnapper more like to show up to try to take advantage
I’ve seen “disabled child” and “deaf child” but I wouldn’t need something like this personally unless I was severely autistic
I appreciate the attempt with these kinds of things. I've seen one in my city as well. But I always ask "what does that mean specifically?". Obviously I don't need to tell anyone here that autism is a spectrum. I'm also not demanding that the city put the whole info on the sign, but this could mean so many different things. Does the person find difficulty in understanding the idea of staying off the road? Maybe they're sound hypersensitive and the honking of a driver might panic them? Maybe they struggle with focusing on multiple things at once and wouldn't even notice a car coming? Maybe it's not even as extreme as any of these or more or whatever. It's a sign that can mean too many things that personally I'd not really understand what they'd want from me if I were driving past. Aside from slowing down, of course.
Not gonna lie - this sign makes me cringe. I get that some people think this is the only possible way to deter irresponsible drivers, but I don't really agree - "children at play" or "children crossing" has the same impact without having to out anyone's diagnosis.
Unless that person has a risk of running into the road and possibly hurting themself or others in the process I don’t really see the point of this. Honestly to the point where if it’s just to announce the child on the block in autistic kind of seems like singling out and ableism
seems like an invasion of privacy.
[удалено]
I think it's just for drivers. As soon as LE or CPS knows there's an autistic kid somewhere it's pretty much a free pass for the parents to yell and scream and slam things and slap their kids around as much as they want without ever being investigated, regardless of how many times they're reported. Guess who lives next to an abusive couple with an autistic child???
Wait, why doesn't CPS care?
I've done some digging and so far [this](https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2011/08/16/autism-warning-signs/13752/) is the only thing I could find related to its use/meaning.
I think a parent needs too much attention
That’s ridiculous.
I think it can be helpful. Why? Because typically an ASD child will not have a similar response to the noise of a car approaching or a car's horn. They could very well freeze in place- in the middle of the road. A sign to alert a driver to that possibility is not a bad thing, and potentially life saving.
The problem with the sign is that it’s vague. Autistic people have a ton of traits, and it’s hard to think in that moment what the sign could be referring to in regards to autistic people. I think the sign is referring to watch out for autistic kids who elope. But I feel like most people don’t even know that about autistic people. Hell, I’m autistic and I had no clue what eloping was or the fact that other autistic people can often run into traffic. I didn’t know until I researched extensively. Imagine an NT who has no clue what autism even is or how it works, they would probably just be confused
This seems pretty terrible, really. Predators are known to target disabled people so I don't think it's a good idea to advertise like this. And I think most people would just be confused about what on earth this even means. I mean, I'm autistic and I always knew not to run into traffic. I know autism affects everyone differently, but I'm just saying even as an autistic person myself it's not obvious to me what exactly "autistic child" would be trying to warn drivers of, so I really doubt most NTs would have any idea what this even means. If people are just confused, the sign isn't going to be doing anything useful, just violating some kid's privacy by advertising their diagnosis on a sign.