Woman Told Not to Park Near Neighbor Unless Ready to 'Accept Damage' to Car

In a now-viral post, an Australian man said his wife received a note telling her not to park near their neighbor's apartment unless she was "willing to accept damage" to her car.

The man, u/Friendly-Fix3598, posted a photo of the note in Reddit's "Mildly Infuriating" forum. In it, his neighbor said they have a child with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and is, therefore, "destructive." This destructive behavior, the neighbor said, could result in damage to the woman's car.

The post has garnered over 29,000 upvotes and sparked a debate amongst Redditors over whether or not u/Friendly-Fix3598's neighbor should be required to take responsibility for any potential damage done by their child.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly one in 44 children is diagnosed with ASD in the U.S. Boys are reportedly four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls, with one in 27 boys and one in 116 girls diagnosed with autism.

Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy organization, said nearly half of children with autism "bolt from safety," and roughly 28 percent have "self-injurious behaviors" that include head banging or skin scratching. One 2014 study also found that one in four children with autism shows aggressive behavior, such as "hitting others, destroying property or throwing temper tantrums," Spectrum News reported.

Australian parenting website Raising Children Network said children with ASD might behave aggressively because they have difficulty communicating their needs or are "very anxious and stressed," among other reasons.

"If you understand what causes your autistic child's self-injurious and aggressive behavior, you can help your child learn to manage the behavior," the organization said.

'Mildly Infuriating'

Per u/Friendly-Fix3598's photo, his neighbor's son is "impulsive and destructive."

"Since moving in, he has drawn on my car...thrown a few rocks across [the] front of [the] complex, and if a car [were] parked where this one is, it would [have] smashed a window," his neighbor wrote. "He has also thrown numerous items from our balcony."

His neighbor added that "as a parent of an ADHD/ASD child," they can "only [prevent] so much."

"Please only park here if [you're] willing to accept damage to your car," the not concluded.

Redditor u/Friendly-Fix3598 said his wife found the note on her car Thursday morning.

Redditors React

Despite the child's behavioral challenges, many Redditors felt the neighbor needs to take responsibility for their child's actions instead of pushing that responsibility onto others.

"Your child having ADHD and Autism doesn't stop you from having the responsibility of being a parent," u/3now_3torm said. "If your child causes damage to a vehicle, it's your responsibility to deal with it, and dealing with it doesn't mean leaving a note."

"Just because you give somebody [a] warning does not release you from your responsibility if your son does cause damage to someone else's property," u/Truefreak22 wrote.

In the comments section of his post, u/Friendly-Fix3598 said he also has a child with autism and agreed that if his child were to damage someone else's car, it would be his responsibility to pay for the damage.

"I understand that children can be hard to parent, but you are still responsible for their actions," he wrote. "I would take responsibility for their actions if they are in my care [and] I would obviously pay for any damage they do to others' property."

Still, some Redditors felt u/Friendly-Fix3598's neighbor deserved more grace.

"Any parent of any child will attest to their kids being out of control sometimes. ASD children are predictably unpredictable, there is simply no 'getting control of' another human being, they will do what they want but you, the adult, have legal and moral limits. It's so inexplicably difficult and they deserve some grace," u/Sleevies_Armies wrote.

Redditor u/I-DONT-OWN-A-CAT said: "My heart literally breaks for this parent. I know I'll get downvoted into oblivion for saying so, but when I read this I see defeat and helplessness. I hope they all get the right support so the pain and damages can be mitigated."

Newsweek reached out to u/Friendly-Fix3598 for comment.

More Viral Posts

Last week, commenters criticized a man for expecting his wife to accommodate his autistic friend's needs while he stayed at their house.

Also last week, Redditors slammed a couple who told their daughter-in-law to "seek help" because they thought she was autistic.

And in August, commenters bashed a woman refusing to take her autistic teenage brother-in-law on a family vacation.