On and off over the years I have considered pursuing a handicapped parking permit to use only as needed when Micah’s autism may trigger behavior issues while trying to park at crowded events. I seriously began to regret not ever pursuing a permit last month while attending Micah’s second “Surfing With Smiles” event when I received a $100 ticket for parking for 10 minutes while we raced across the street to pick up the wet suit needed for Micah to participate in the event. The surfing event is a wonderful gift to people with disabilities, however the lack of enough parking spaces near the surf shop that was loaning the wet suits was a major problem. There were no spaces available in the small public lot across the street of the surf shop. My mistake was to park in one of the many open spaces in the adjacent resident parking lot, reasoning that there was no way it would be a problem for the 10 minutes needed to cross the street, get his wet suit, and head on to the event.
I should have taken my friend up on her suggestion that she wait in the car while we crossed the street, but it was really hot out so I declined her offer. A decision I quickly regretted as the ticket guy was writing my ticket as we raced back to the car. He was not mean about it and acknowledged that he had noted the Autism Alert sticker that I have on my drivers’ side window. Local police provided that sticker years ago and I have appreciated the security of knowing that if something happens to me as the driver, the sticker alerts them to Micah’s nonverbal status and directs them to information in the glove compartment about his disability as well as contact information for other family members. Ticket man said he could not stop writing my ticket because he had already started to write it, but if I had a handicapped parking permit he would not have started writing it. I said that I had considered getting one over the years, but my son is quite capable physically, it is the behavioral components of his disability that can present challenges if we have to navigate long distances or crowds. He told me that counted as a valid reason for requesting a handicap parking permit. As he gave me the ticket he noted that I could appeal the $100 ticket.
And appeal I did as the ticket was expensive and seemed especially unfair as they knew the event was going on and made no allowances for families with disabilities that needed to make that brief stop before driving to the actual event (where I got yet another ticket for an expired meter, which alas, was my fault because I did not put enough money in the meter….it was an expensive event for us). The appeal process was yet another adventure as I decided it would be better to appeal in person than online, so I drove back to Hampton, only to find that you can’t really appeal in person, you can go there and fill out your appeal and put it in a box outside of the inner door to the police station. Fortunately, a kind employee who happens to have a grandson with Autism, helped me by making a photo copy of my proof of Micah’s disability so that I could submit the appeal in the box in the foyer of the police station.
Meanwhile I did some research on the handicap parking permit and noted that the criteria is a “walking disability”, which is about as far from Micah’s situation as possible; if anything he has a “too fast running away disability”, so I still am not inclined to apply for one. However, I am thankful for the Autism Alert sticker that the local police provided years ago and for grace from the Hampton police, as my appeal was approved. I am hopeful that next year the town will designate a few short term parking spots for families to pick up the wet suits so that our experience can be 100% positive and not marred by the risk of $100 tickets.
Jan Lessard Peightell July 21, 2022