A Clinton-based woman is taking a practical approach to raising awareness for people living on the autism spectrum by selling custom decals for cars.
Kelly Kuzyk, the woman behind Kuzyville Custom Crafts, shared a post on Facebook of the decal last week (March 5) and has since sold over 40 decals to people as far as Prince George and Kelowna.
The idea came to Kuzyk because of her 10-year-old granddaughter. She said with autism awareness month around the corner, she was surprised to see nothing available in stores to raise awareness.
“My biggest fear is if I become hurt in an accident, how would my grandchild react?” said Kuzyk. “Would she tell the emergency personnel she is autistic? I hope these decals will help emergency personnel realize there is an autistic child in the car.”
Kuzyk hopes the decals will help safety personnel identify the individual with a disability in the vehicle but also spark conversations when seen by the public.
“I started making things to help make other people aware,” said Kuzyk. “I have people requesting decals to be made specific to an individual, so I’ve been making a few to identify the individual who may be in the car.”
Kuzyk makes the decals out of vinyl. A year ago, she made one for her vehicle and says it’s remained the same since putting it on her window. Kuzyk has also begun making other items to help raise awareness like seatbelt covers, t-shirts and more.
“I think it is very important for people to have a decal like this,” said Kuzyk. “Some people can be very ignorant when a child cannot be controlled. When a child is having a meltdown, that’s the last thing you want to notice, it’s not your child’s fault – you never know what may trigger them. I hope these (decals) will help people understand the importance of being aware.”
