SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — After a grandmother’s plea for action, signs in Washington Township, New Jersey now alert drivers about children with autism in the area.
Valerie Neissner’s 6-year-old grandson, Jonathan, recently got out of the house on his own, even with special locks on the doors. He ran toward the busy portion of Salina Road, near Egg Harbor Road. Drivers often speed through it, but that time, cars fortunately stopped.
“As he was going toward the road, of course, you could imagine my heart was pounding out of my chest,” Neissner recalled. “I was running after him, and … the cars stopped. If they didn’t and he would have been hit, it would have been really tragic.”
She said Jonathan, who has autism, is a runner, and he sometimes takes off without notice.
“And when you have a runner that’s a child, they don’t stop,” she added.
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She reached out to Councilman Pete Delborrello about posting signs that alert drivers to slow down. It reads in capital letters, “CAUTION,” followed by, “AUTISTIC CHILDREN IN AREA.”
“There are signs, not just in reference to autistic children, deaf child area, things like that, but slowing down,” said Neissner.
Since the signs were added, Mayor Joann Gattinelli said she’s getting more and more similar requests. To her knowledge, no other towns in the region have posted signs for children with autism.
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“The sign was up within a few days or a week, if that,” she said. “It wasn’t anything that there’s a model for that. It was something that was put together.”
The township plans to post more signs in other high-traffic areas, where families face challenges with children who run off.
“We’re mainly looking for those that are having an issue and their children or grandchildren are considered runners,” Gattinelli said.
People can reach out to her office or town council to request signage. Gattinelli said they will consider everything on a case-by-case basis.