Anyone applied for a blue badge under new rules?

[Hairyheadphones]

I applied for a blue badge under the new invisible disability rules today for my DS who has ASD/ADHD.

Has anyone else applied? I imagine there will be a huge influx of applications and it will take a long while to hear. I didn’t manage to pay as the servers were too busy but I was informed that my application had been submitted.

I'll be applying for anxiety. Need to sort it tonight. I think there will be issues trying to find spaces with the new rules, unfortunately. My GM applied for one about a month ago and the turnaround was only around 2 weeks. I'd expect a longer wait now!

My councils website states it will take 6 weeks but could be up to 12 weeks.

My grandpa got his quickly recently. I genuinely fear due to the new rules though going out in a wheelchair is going to result in going round and round car parks and then going home. They need to make new spaces to keep up with the new applications!

I'm going to try my ds has autism and as much as I don't think I need one like a wheelchair user there are times like today I had to take ds somewhere and parking was quite a way away and ds has no awareness of danger etc . But yeah I think there will be less available disabled parking .

I am worried about the new rules. The disabled spaces have room for someone to manoeuvre from the car to a wheelchair by placing the wheelchair next to the car seat. Wheelchair users (like my son) cannot use any other spaces because there simply isn’t enough space. I don’t understand why anxiety or other hidden conditions require extra space around the car, I really don’t. Surely for people who need to be near shops or whatever can use spaces next to disabled spaces - wheelchair users cannot. I think my son and I will struggle so much in the near future, it is very worrying.

Ds already has one because he gets hrm under the smi criteria. I have seen people on Facebook who think their child will automatically get one because they have autism so I think there are going to be some disappointed people because they still have to show great difficulty with mobility which won't apply to everyone with autism.

Some people like my son do require the extra space because of how difficult his behaviour can be getting him in and out of the car and because he requires putting into a special safety harness in the car.

For most invisible conditions it's to do with proximity to the building, a wider bay to enable a carer to be alongside the disabled person (e.g., a person with autism who may be prone to bolting), space for a carer to get in and buckle belts, etc. There may also be a cost element. A few car parks around here charge for standard parking but don't charge for blue badge parking, if you've just paid £6+ for parking and your child has a meltdown ten minutes into the trip you're then out of pocket and many carers are on low incomes to begin with.

What they did in my local area (in Scotland) was change it so people with a blue badge can park anywhere - not bus stops or taxi ranks or double yellows but any sensible space.
So there's no availability issue. There are still some labeled disabled spaces but the change really helped I think

Hi, this is my job! It shouldn’t take longer, we send out the emails automatically if you gave us one asking for evidence. If it’s letters it’s another company that send them and gets done right away where we are.
Normally it’s waiting for evidence from people applying, so if you’re on it and return it quickly you shouldn’t wait too long. It takes 2 weeks from being accepted to getting it if we’ve got everything from you
You can get it automatically or as an assessed route depending on PIP points under the new criteria.
Good luck!

A blue badge for anxiety?? Ok my knowledge of their use is perhaps limited to shopping centre car parks, but I always thought these were for wider access spaces / proximity etc to rightly aid those with mobility issues.

Genuinely didn’t know that this was being widened to such an extent.

@elliehamster I don’t understand why anxiety or other hidden conditions require extra space around the car, I really don’t.
Really ? You can’t understand why my dh needs to open the car door fully to enable him to safety get our ds with autism into the car without him hurting himself, and then to strap him into his Crelling harness while he is having a meltdown.
I am a wheelchair user myself so it’s ok when I am in the car. Unsafe:impossible when I am not!

Why do conditions like anxiety mean people need a blue badge? Genuine question.

I am really pleased about this, i think it will help a lot of people.
But unless they increase the bb bays there will still be a problem.

Why do conditions like anxiety mean people need a blue badge? Genuine question.

The person I know who has anxiety plans everything to the nth degree when they leave the house as it helps them to lessen the feeling of being overwhelmed. What time to leave, what time they will arrive, where to park, where to go after parking, what needs to be done while they are there, what time they need to leave, etc. There are times they may need to leave early or may need to get back to their car quickly due to the anxiety. A blue badge would help by allowing them to park closer to the building/location so faster to get in and out as needed, would give them a designated place to park and therefore more chance of finding a space without too much uncertain circling around the car park, less anxiety about accidentally clipping the neighbouring car and the resulting confrontation (this person tends to play out worst case scenarios in their head but it contributes to the overall stress of going out), if returning to the car in a heightened state it's easier to locate the car and get in, if they need assistance from a carer then there is room for the carer to manoeuvre around the outside of the car as needed.

It's a massive shame that this hasn't been extended to include people with an invisible physical disability, like those with fibromyalgia/ehlers-dahnos who can't walk far. I don't have a wheelchair though I do have a stick (so no longer 'invisibly' disabled) - after 10 minutes walking round a shop I need my car to be a short distance away so I can get there quickly as I can't walk anymore.

I hope this won't lead to people abusing the system - I understand why many parents of children with autism/ASD/learning disabilities need blue badges but am pretty sure not all do. Ditto anxiety (and I am an anxiety sufferer who doesn't require a BB for that, only my physical disability.

A shortage of blue badges will really seriously affect my daily life. And PP who talked about being able to park on double yellows etc - you already can. But this doesn't help you if there's no sensible place to park near a shop except a disabled space, and they're all full.

Sorry I mean 'a shortage of disabled spaces'

Let’s not forget as with anything it’s going to be those at the extreme end of the spectrums who get them.

Ds is 9 and already has a blue badge as he is also a part time wheelchair user with very bad lungs. But for his autism it is a godsend even if we don’t need his wheelchair. As small as he is wrestling a 9 year old back to and into a car safely is not easy!

He also has crippling anxiety which means when he needs to leave somewhere he needs to leave then and is in tunnel vision mode until he can get to the car or another safe area

I'm not really getting the anxiety thing either, and I mean anxiety alone with no other conditions.

It's an interesting change. I have OCD which means that I cannot use higher floors of multi storey car parks at all. I could really use a guaranteed low floor space (which BB often are I think) and obviously I plan meticulously to know where I can safely park and if I can't I go home. I probably will get a BB at some point because of a degenerative illness anyway.

Obviously you don’t suffer from anxiety then🤐
You have no idea what it’s like to be filled with adrenaline rushing round your body and how hard it is to just
Go shopping!!!!

Don’t judge other people, if you’ve never suffered
There’s anxiety AND ANXIETY

Yes but some people can literally only walk from the kerb to their door, so would need to park right outside a cafe, cinema, shop whatever or couldn't use it. Sympathetic to parent/carer of a child/adult who would be a danger to self and others and extreme mental states but this is going to need monitoring.

Granadagirl I have been diagnosed with anxiety and had years of counselling for it. I've sat inside for days because I was too scared to leave the house. It still would have been easier for me to walk 500m from my car than it would be now - now it's physically impossible. There is a spectrum, and some people with mental health issues including depression and anxiety are legally defined as disabled because their condition has a substantial and long-lasting effect on their lives. I'd expect people who get blue badges to be in that group. But not everyone with an anxiety diagnosis - in any case there are patently not nearly enough disabled spaces to accommodate them.

I don't get the anxiety thing either but happy to be educated as to how if someone can walk into a busy public place e.g. shop or hospital, how the extra minute to walk 100m to it makes such a tangible difference that it should make life more difficult for those with physical disabilities who can't get out at all without them. I'm not being sarcastic I'd genuinely like to understand.

But not all disabilities require parking close to a shop and I say that as the parent of 2 SN children
Same with parent and child. I'd love them to be at the back with space around the car and then those that genuinely need them will use them
It's only limited mobility that need to be close