Council rejects street sign request warning drivers of autistic children

On Cicada Song Drive inside Moss Grove Plantation in Moncks Corner, remnants of playtime are scattered at the edge of a driveway. Tricycles, scooters and Big Wheels pushed aside no doubt, to make room for the hopscotch coarse colored in with pastel chalk. A sure bet there are children inside the busy home.

Kimberly McFaddens’ home is a little busier than some others.

The McFaddens moved into Moss Grove Plantation in 2010. Since then there have been a few changes inside the large development which now opens up on either side to both highways 17 and 52. The family has grown as well.

“We have five children three who have autism and one who has other special needs,” McFadden said.

Because of their conditions, the family has additional steps to keep the children safe.

“We call our house Fort Knox. We can’t lock it up any tighter. I mean we have deadbolts on the doors and locks on the windows,” the mother says.

The locks are not to keep people out but to help keep the children in.

“Our 5-year-old autistic son; he frequently gets out of the house and he just takes off across the street,” she said. “We have a lot of speeders in this neighborhood especially with the road open between (highways) 52 and 17 - they come flying by; he has almost been hit by a car numerous times,” McFadden said.

Doing everything she could at home, McFadden and another parent with the same concern from nearby Fox Bank Plantation asked Berkeley County for some help. In March of 2017 they addressed council members to see if they could help with getting a couple of street signs warning drivers there are autistic children in the area.

“I feel like if there were maybe signs for the community to know there is an autistic child out on this road, they might be more inclined to slow down and at least look where they’re going,” Kimberly McFadden said.

Council members began to study the issue for two months. At the July 24 meeting they decided the county could not move ahead with the signs. One of the concerns was that there are no SCDOT certified signs for autism. They also questioned the level of the condition that would warrant a street sign. Officials also said they felt it would be a slippery slope on determining which conditions and challenges warrant a sign.

During discussion, elected officials said there is certified signage for the hearing impaired, but questioned where to draw the line with other conditions. Council members also checked with other counties across the state to see if there was anything similar, but nothing was found.

The study also included contact with advocacy groups like the National Autism Foundation. The county was told the group supports such signage but it did not have any set standards or protocol on how to deploy them. Council members expressed concern and indicated they wanted to help, but they all agreed there were too many hurdles to move ahead.

McFadden, who watched the meeting online, obviously wanted things to go differently.

“I appreciate all the studies, I just can’t agree with the findings,” she said. “I understand there is no protocol, but why can’t Berkeley County be the one to set the standard. It has to start somewhere.”

The family will continue to stay vigilant, taking every precaution. McFadden said she knows the signs would not eliminate the chances of something bad happening, but in her child’s case it is only the driver who can understand the danger.

“Typical children play near the road. Our son just takes off and he doesn’t have any fear to look for a car; he doesn’t care,” McFadden said. “They could be saving a child’s life by putting a sign in, a simple sign.”