Parents Win Fight With Town Board for Neighborhood Autism Awareness Signs
One upstate New York town will soon have autism awareness signs posted in some residential neighborhoods.
Louie Blazer and Dawn Stinner are both parents of children on the autism spectrum who live in Town of Tonawanda, New York, ABC News reported. The parents, who live in different neighborhoods in the same town, are both fighting for the right to put up a sign in front of their homes warning drivers that children with autism live in the area. The parents feel the sign is necessary because children with autism can be prone to wandering off and are sometimes unable to perceive danger
Despite the fact that at least one similar sign is already in place in the town, Stinner and Blazer were initially told that erecting the sign in their neighborhoods would be illegal. They’ve spent months dealing with the police and highway departments.
“Some of these children, including my own son, do not have the ability to adjust to their surroundings in order to protect themselves,” Stinner told ABC News.
After a group session on Monday, July 17, the town board approved the signs for both Blazer’s and Stinner’s respective neighborhoods. Supervisor Anthony Caruana said that in order to promote public safety, drivers should be aware just like they are for a child who is blind or deaf.
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Melissa McGlensey is the former News Editor at The Mighty. Her writing can also be seen in Ms. Magazine, on the Ms.Magazine blog and in The Huffington Post’s Good News, Comedy and Impact sections. Melissa is also a New York City comedian who does sketch, improv and stand up. She is passionate about social justice, politics, Thai food, literature, disability rights and more. She is currently in a long-distance relationship with her cat, Sneakers, who lives in California. You can follow her on twitter at @OhHeyMeliss.
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