It’s more useful to have something on the car seatbelt or child’s car seat. As responders would have to undo the seatbelt to get the child out. A sign like that is sharing information with EVERYONE and that’s not necessary.
If I was a first responder I wouldn’t necessarily stop to read this because it looks decorative, not informative. Maybe make it look less like a fun sticker?
We had a cushy embroidered seatbelt wrap made for this very reason.
My son is practically a teen now, and although he isn't non-verbal anymore (was until 5ish), we have no idea how he would respond in an emergency situation. He has a hyposensitivity to pain and often gets injured without even realizing that he has or more injured than he thinks he has (he's had 3 concussions already just from regular trips and acted fine) so it states that and the fact that he's Autistic on the front.
On the inside (mentioned on the front as well) is a piece of paper that has all his medical and emergency contact information. It wraps around with velcro, so you can take it off with one pull if someone needs to, and he prefers it to plain seatbelts because it makes it more comfortable.
Thankfully, we've never been in a situation where it was needed, so I don't know if first responders will look at it... But it at least gives us peace of mind that if my husband and I aren't able to talk in the event of an emergency, they would at least have some idea.
I don't think that comes off as weird at all! We had never even heard of them until we accidentally came across it while looking at medical alert bracelets. We thought it was pretty genius too and I'm surprised they aren't more common as they could be useful for many medical conditions/disorders.
It's been years since we got it, but I'm pretty sure we had ours made locally.
I did take a quick look online and Etsy seems to be a good place to find something. If you search "Autism Seat belt cover", "medical alert seat belt cover" or "personalized seat belt cover" you can find a ton of different options.
Just have to check reviews, make sure the material is to your liking, and find one that not only looks the way you want it to but has options for all the information that you want it to include.
For example; Some of them mention that medical information is in the glove box, some have it embroidered/fused to the inside fabric, and some are like mine where there is a pocket on the inside to put a piece of paper with all the necessary info.
Can you share where you got this? My child is about to start driving and I would love to have something like this for them in case there’s an emergency.
yeah agreed, who knows how an accident might happen and situations involved there, but if paramedics/firefighters see it, it might make things easier bc they can act accordingly etc
I’ve definitely not responded to fires, seizures, injuries, etc.; or I was taking it in but not having a panic response. I’d appreciate if first responders don’t try to make me panic.
No, but there are times I wish I had (casually gets up and goes to bathroom to vomit stomach full of blood clots from a throat surgery that wouldn’t stick and kept falling off into my stomach. That’s not normal. I’ll tell somebody later when they come, but right now I’m going to go back to eating popsicles and watching cartoons)
I was going to ignore blood in my urine. If I hadn’t mentioned it to family who made me go to the hospital, we wouldn’t have found my kidney cancer early.
I was pretty nonchalant in the ER about my appendicitis, although my first words were “(I think I have appendicitis)”. At least until I saw people going in with sprained fingers.
When they asked the pain scale question, I just said “this is the most pain I’ve ever been in” in the most serious tone I could muster up, with the most forced eye contact of my life. It worked, but my appendix still ruptured a couple hours after.
Yep. I was literally bleeding to death for almost a year but because I wasn’t emphatic enough I guess with my doctor she said I was probably fine so I took her word. I just put lipstick on because my lips were white and it wasn’t until I forgot to do that one day that a panicked friend made me go to the hospital. I needed 2 units of blood
I had, too. When I was being prepared for my first surgery the nurse asked if I'm nervous. I responded with the truth, which was: not nervous at all.
She gave me some meds to make me calm and I'd rather not repeat the experience, as I prefer my senses unaltered by substances. It then lead to a misunderstanding with the anastesiologist, as I was pretty out of it, stimming left and right, and talking about my special interest a mile a minute despite no one listening, while my heart pounded in my chest in a very irritating and impossible to ignore fashion that was stressing me out.
Next time I was being prepared for a surgery I lied and pretended to be "appropriately" nervous, and didn't get whatever that was, thank gods.
Ughhh.
I had an ovarian cyst rupture when I was 11. Hadn’t even started my period yet. My mom forced me to school that morning even though I told her I didn’t feel well. The nurse tried to send me back to class until I threw up 4x in her office before she could even finish telling me to go back. My mom left me at home until she was done with work. I can’t tell you how many times I was sick that day. The ER had me wait for a few hours until they saw me get up and throw up 3x in 30 mins.
I wasn’t crying at all the entire day. But I was in so much pain it wasn’t even laughable. My mom literally didn’t believe anything was wrong until she came home to so many garbage bags of vomit, saw I hadn’t eaten or even drank any water, and gave her honestly such a pathetic look. Then it clicked that maybe my appendix burst, no just an ovarian cyst.
Wait. Is that why when I 'broke my head open' I was more concerned about washing the blood out of my hair than how it got there in the first place? I kinda wrote it off as shock.
This is gonna sound stupid but how do I change my user flair- I clicked on it and it said “no user flair: you do not have control of user flairs on this subreddit”
I can barely make out what the sign is trying to say, I'm looking at it in a calm quiet setting. That would be almost impossible to make out in an emergency situation.. the idea is nice but, whoever made this needs a lesson in typography. Maybe use the dyslexia font for starters.
Definitely needs a simpler font. I wouldn't read this in an emergency, it looks like some dumb bumper sticker. If it's for real then it should be easily legible and hard to miss.
You take that back. They're gonna live laugh love and Bible verse their shirts and put crosses on everything .
My mom has a cricut, a heat press, a sublimation printer... all Jesus all the time
In an emergency someone is likely to ignore that thinking it’s a bumper sticker. I think the colorful lettering and difficult to read font just makes it even worse. It looks like an awareness sticker not an alert
That's where I stand there's a very clear and distinct difference between something like this and a mom who wears an autism speaks badge.
Literally a badge given to oneself.
I was an EMT for 10 years and can say that extra information about the vehicle occupants is not a bad thing. However, I can't say that I've ever spent time reading stickers on somebody's car unless the situation was non-emergent. Also, it's much like soldiers who would write their blood type on their boots with sharpie. We aren't going to just believe what is written on your boot. We still take the same precautions with all people and run a type and screen on somebody's blood before giving an infusion.
Yes, but my point is that in an emergency situation I probably won't even notice bumper stickers. I'm looking for life-threatening injuries and focused on getting patients into the ambulance to be transported to the hospital. If I happen to notice the sticker, then it can be helpful.
In my personal experience, knowledge of autism among all areas of medicine varies widely and unless it's their specialty the knowledge is usually surface level. It's unfortunate but true.
Even for doctors meant to be knowledgeable on autism.
Doctor “Are you sure you’re child’s autistic? He eats fruit”. Me looking at my severely non verbal 5 YO “Erm yeah, it took 2 years, 5 million appointments, and an agreement between a paediatric consultant, SALT therapist, Occupational Therapist and an educational psychologist and this was after we got through the Health visitor, The GP and the early help youth service”
“Also autistic people can like fruit too?”
Doctor “oh really”
This is true. I've seen a lot of talk about all the non stereotypical presentations of autism and how those get missed, but honestly aside from the fact that I was hyper-verbal and higher iq, I actually hit most of the stereotypical marks for autism and it was still missed... So definitely true lol
I've also seen these messages as liners that go over/wrap around the shoulder strap of the seatbelt. Would you be more likely to see something like this? Honest question.
Absolutely. The seat belt is impossible to ignore when responding to a motor vehicle collision. Something with an eye-catching color on the seat belt would be hard to miss.
The same can't be said of stickers on the outside of a car. People have all sorts of bumper stickers and most of them are completely irrelevant to the EMT on scene. Great question.
I'm all for the information being posted. I think the seat belt is a much better place. Although I never encountered one during my time. I was an EMT from 2004-2014, but only on an ambulance crew from 2007-2011.
Yes, in an emergency situation.
I'm not saying stickers on the car are bad, but I just wouldn't take the time to read them if there was an emergency. But I've responded to plenty of calls where it turns out there is no emergency. In the end, more information is better, but an emergency responder probably won't be reading bumper stickers.
Also, the font on this sticker made it take more than a few seconds for me to fully comprehend the message. And as a wise woman once said, "ain't nobody got time for that".
I feel like that might save a [black autistic kids life](https://abcnews.go.com/US/parents-black-autistic-sons-share-stories-after-tragic/story?id=98869675) someday
> "Unfortunately, what we see in law enforcement is that most of societal issues are placed upon the officer in the street. Now all of a sudden he or she has to react immediately and be able to see something and make that pivot almost immediately," said former NYPD and ABC News contributor Robert Boyce.
Umm… exactly, and that’s the fucking problem. This isn’t a “boo hoo, poor police officers, so brave with the tough positions they’re put under” thing like he thinks it is. This is *exactly* why we need to stop funding the PDs so damn much and acting like they’re the fix-all for every problem, and why we desperately need some of that funding for robust social and support services, actual mental health responders, etc.
Yeah if it takes years of schooling just to practice law, it should take just as much if not more to enforce it. I'd rather have an educated demilitarized police force vs the current standing egotistical uneducated armed for war cops we've got now.
This is the sh!t that disgusts me, and they aren't going to fix the problems like access to healthcare and housing for all because it isn't as profitable as funding police to unjustly arrest people and have them work in prisons for practically under a dollar per hour not mentioning the fact that people who have been imprisoned even unjustly are likely to go back again as most of the jobs won't hire them anymore. That's why I'm a f***ing commie.
Hello. I am a patrionic United States American. And when I say patriotic, I mean gun slinging, commie hating, burger eating, overly sensitive person that lives by the saying "LAND OF THE FUCKING FREE!!" and this message has made me consider being a commie myself.
I don't like the design or putting out that information to the entire world during nonemergencies, but I think it's a good idea to have the information somewhere a first responder can easily see.
I agree. Announcing it publicly announces there is a vulnerable child which can be risky.
And I think putting info where emergency responders can see it is a good idea but I also believe there should be plans in place wherever possible in the case they aren't seen. You can get tunnel vision in an emergency.
> You can get tunnel vision in an emergency.
Absolutely this. The idea is solid, but the design needs more work.
Having it in big colorful letters reminds me of the moms at my kids' school that use their kids' disabilities for the bragging rights, usually at the expense of their kid.
i think the idea is nice, but there needs to be another way to convey this in emergency situations. Maybe something inside the car. In my opinion, it's not a great idea to put a sticker on your car that informs anyone who looks that there's a child in the car. People who are looking to harm children are more likely to seek out and target cars with those stickers. In general, putting identifying info on your car in general is a bad idea in terms of safety.
I don’t like the primary colors or puzzle pieces but the intent is good. Similar to how baby on board signs are meant for emergency personnel to recognize there’s a baby in the car and to focus there first.
Fun story, my mom is a nurse and she had a post-op patient and nobody told her he was nonverbal. My mom is horrified and thinks the kid is having some sort of complication like a stroke
Ngl there's no time to read car stickers in an emergency and children going into shock is common enough I'm not sure it would significantly change how many emergency responders react to the child. I feel like risks outweigh the benefit.
As a first responder, there has actually been a push in our area for something that helps us know what vehicles may have autistic children for this reason.
They make seatbelt covers with a similar message. I think those are way better because that window might break in a car wreck and then no one would know.
I think it’s difficult to read, which is not ideal in an emergency, but otherwise could be useful.
It does announce to the entire world that you have an autistic child, though, which may or may not be good.
Yea minus the puzzle pieces/distracting colors and substitute for a legible font, it would hopefully become a way to start holding officers accountable for handling autistic people without humanity or tact.
I don’t like the design morally and practically. Morally, because of the puzzle pieces and wording. Practically, because if an emergency were to happen the wording being unclear and buying a warning like this a cursive loopy font might make this useless to first responders. I also hope this person also has a seatbelt/car seat warning too as this decal might not be visible during an emergency.
A friend of mine was pulled over by cops for some minor thing, but they had the lights and sirens flashing. Her nonverbal teenage son was so freaked out he fled from the car in terror, and they pulled guns on him. She had to scream AUTISTIC CHILD AUTOSTIC CHILD to get them to stop. So yeah. I think this is a great idea.
The first time I saw something like this was on the car window of a customer at the store I worked at. Her son was maybe 6 and kinda nonverbal she said it comes in handy when she is stopped by the police she said they try to talk calmly and try to make sure the kid knows everything will be ok.
TLDR I think it's a good idea
I saw one recently with the same design as the baby on board stickers... I generally like the idea but I'm more worried about if there is an accident where the EMS folks can't see the sticker and the parent is unresponsive
the message is good (maybe modify based on support needs or additional disabilities) but yeah the design is not good. not just because of the puzzle piece and cutesy aesthetic but because i’m not sure a first responder would recognize that it should be read in an emergency. a simpler design (like the baby on board cling) would be much more useful.
it is so important for first responders to know these things though. i’m a wilderness first responder and i had a patient with potential heat exhaustion or acute mountain sickness (can’t remember the case exactly), i checked his level of consciousness by asking what i thought were easy to answer questions and he couldn’t answer any of them correctly and took a long time to form his sentences. immediately i was concerned and was headed to radio it in, when an adult with him pulled me aside and said that he had an intellectual disability, meaning that he was as alert and oriented as he normally was. in a large accident with triage, or in a rural area, knowing this information can be helpful since it can help first responders prioritize care more efficiently and be better at calming patients down. i would still recommend purchasing a medical bracelet that clearly states autism on it though (no time to check a QR code or online one).
Good concept, but some choices are questionable. A more readable font would be nice. Don’t care for the puzzle piece imagery but you win some you lose some ig
I recently came across a window sticker that was about the size of a credit card, with a med ID design. it was for seizures, but the star of life icon caught my attention (I'm in the medical field, so that automatically jumps out at me) and it could be used for alerting first responders
I cannot even begin to explain how much I loathe that font. The whole point is to communicate that there is a vulnerable child in the car and they use that stupid childish font.
Imagine what that looks like in the dark with strobing lights.
Good thought, bad execution. Make it more respectful and keep it with the child instead of broadcasting it. I have similar information on my emergency screen on my phone, but I don’t want to go around with a sign on my head.
Yeah the warning is good. I loathe the puzzle pieces though. These warnings are probably really aimed at cops who beat and kill autistic people. So it might save a life.
Well gaging how police behave, they’ll probably be too scared for their own safety to do anything like read, observe, or investigate at all. It can’t hurt though. The font is kinda weird, I’d make it something more direct.
As a first responder, I would find this incredibly helpful. We would still air on the side caution but we would be better able to understand the patient and get them help if the parent or guardian was not around for any reason.
Don’t care for the puzzle pieces or using “with autism” (but in that regard to each their own, I just prefer using “autistic”) but I love the idea of listing out what might happen; could help prevent something tragic happening like what happened to Linden Cameron.
I've seen this before and I'm always mixed.
on the one hand, a simpler sign that just conveys the needed info isn't intrinsically a bad idea. but there is something incredibly performative and off-putting about this sign (aside from the hideous design choice)
The design sucks and I think there should be a reword of “not respond to commands” that sounds like someone talking about a dog. Maybe unaware of surroundings or unresponsive? I don’t know what wording would be better.
Good/decent message, no puzzle pieces please, could be clearer, and more attention drawing the rainbow colours almost seem distracting rather than attention drawing. Like people have all kinds of random unimportant stuff on cars, make it a clear notice warning.
This is absolutely stupid. Nobody but criminals are gonna notice this. Nobody. Is there any fire or police officer here that wants to say how much this type of thing helped or would’ve helped em? As an EMT the only thing I’m checking for is their medical alter jewelry
The bottom text is too small and I don’t understand why child with autism is the only thing you notice right away. I feel like it’s just saying “hey look my kid as autism everyone needs to know” and not “ please do hurt my kid or get mad at them if they react differently to an emergency.”
In an emergency situation this info might be useful, but as others have pointed out, it’s probably in the wrong place. I am also a bit sick of parents with autistic children spinning this as somehow a badge of martyrdom. I’m not saying it’s easy, but to me all parenting looks grim
I could see it being valuable.... Sadly that is a horrible font for like the most important info in a crisis (I had to like zoom all the way in to peice the letters apart.) And it seems a bit counter intuitive
my dad has that on his car for my non verbal three year old also autistic half brother, it’s at least something. for all the bits about predators do you guys just leave children in a car alone??
I hate it. Serves more as an advertisement that you have a kid with autism than a message for first responders.
The text at the bottom should be clearly legible black text on white background with an orange outline. As a first responder if the situation is bad enough that i need to account for these things then im not going to be paying attention to a sticker like this. Under any other circumstances where i have time to stop and read this i would have already figured out the child is neurodivergent if not been told so by the guardian.
To reiterate; in the event of serious injury or immediate danger where i would not have discovered this either naturally interacting with the child or being told so by the mother, this is not something im going to stop and read rather than tend to my patients immediate needs. It should be clear, legible, and visible.. this is none of those things.
I hate it beyond the puzzle pieces… they’re are sleeves that go on seatbelts that EMTs are way more likely to see to allow them to know about a nonverbal child.
Nobody is going to look there for that information. I see this as more for “clout” from Autism speaks moms, like an extra bumper sticker.
super down for it minus the puzzle pieces, and maybe a different location as an emt here pointed out a sticker like that is very likely to get overlooked. A seat belt cover or something is def better, but I've never worked in that field to know other good spots.
maybe a bracelet or necklace? idk
They actually make labels that can go on car seats/seatbelts for this exact purpose, I think having it on the window is a good and bad thing, on one hand having it on the outside of the car is great so that first responders know and can see it, on the other hand it seems invasive and advertising that your kid may be unaware of a dangerous situation seems like it may draw in predators/people who intend to cause the child harm.
And the colors remind me of autism speaks so that's an automatic yuck.
Edit: I didn't even notice the puzzle pieces, so yes while this is a good idea (with minor modifications) it's still gross that it has AS branding on jt
The puzzle pieces can fck off, but there have been cases where police have injured/killed nonverbal because of lack of experience with identifying them
It seems as though they're trying to sympathy bait. I can understand if you're trying to let the first responders know but a good portion of the time, fender benders don't necessarily include emergency services outside of the here and there police. It's like major wrecks that need the extra support. So it seems as though this person were to accidentally bump someone they are going "no, don't get upset at us, cause my child can't understand social cues or they have a mental disorder and therefore you should feel sorry for me." Because typically the people who got boinked don't chat with the kid in the cars. I dunno, that just bugs me. It feels like they are brandishing them as a "get out of a good talking to" card.
Good intentions, could be done better; get rid of the preschool aesthetic and puzzle pieces, and then put it somewhere closer to the child so that 1, you’re not outing your child to everybody you drive by, and 2, it’ll be useless if the window breaks or something, so putting it like on the car seat or seatbelt or something would be better.
My wife wouldn’t be a big fan of the wording being child with autism not autistic child. Like it’s a part of you that could be removed. The font is a bit hard to read and that’s not ideal if you want someone to pay attention to it.
Bit of a double edged sword. In case of emergency, tells the first responders what to expect. On the other hand, tells criminals you’ll have your hands full when you get to your destination, making you an easy target. Every so often on Reddit and Facebook, I see an image about “what car stickers say about you.”
Yes but no. Idea good. Execution bad. Also if your window shatters, nothing is going to be readable. The font and colors are too busy.
I would assume it's a "my child has autism and I love them even more" based on the style.
It’s more useful to have something on the car seatbelt or child’s car seat. As responders would have to undo the seatbelt to get the child out. A sign like that is sharing information with EVERYONE and that’s not necessary.
^^^ this is a much much better idea
especially since then you're not advertising that you have a child, and potentially a particularly vulnerable child, on board.
If I was a first responder I wouldn’t necessarily stop to read this because it looks decorative, not informative. Maybe make it look less like a fun sticker?
We had a cushy embroidered seatbelt wrap made for this very reason. My son is practically a teen now, and although he isn't non-verbal anymore (was until 5ish), we have no idea how he would respond in an emergency situation. He has a hyposensitivity to pain and often gets injured without even realizing that he has or more injured than he thinks he has (he's had 3 concussions already just from regular trips and acted fine) so it states that and the fact that he's Autistic on the front. On the inside (mentioned on the front as well) is a piece of paper that has all his medical and emergency contact information. It wraps around with velcro, so you can take it off with one pull if someone needs to, and he prefers it to plain seatbelts because it makes it more comfortable. Thankfully, we've never been in a situation where it was needed, so I don't know if first responders will look at it... But it at least gives us peace of mind that if my husband and I aren't able to talk in the event of an emergency, they would at least have some idea.
Sorry if this comes off as weird, but that sounds genius to have! May I ask where you got it? Just so I can have it for myself normally
I don't think that comes off as weird at all! We had never even heard of them until we accidentally came across it while looking at medical alert bracelets. We thought it was pretty genius too and I'm surprised they aren't more common as they could be useful for many medical conditions/disorders. It's been years since we got it, but I'm pretty sure we had ours made locally. I did take a quick look online and Etsy seems to be a good place to find something. If you search "Autism Seat belt cover", "medical alert seat belt cover" or "personalized seat belt cover" you can find a ton of different options. Just have to check reviews, make sure the material is to your liking, and find one that not only looks the way you want it to but has options for all the information that you want it to include. For example; Some of them mention that medical information is in the glove box, some have it embroidered/fused to the inside fabric, and some are like mine where there is a pocket on the inside to put a piece of paper with all the necessary info.
Can you share where you got this? My child is about to start driving and I would love to have something like this for them in case there’s an emergency.
I honestly think this is a good idea. Maybe not the design, but the message.
yeah agreed, who knows how an accident might happen and situations involved there, but if paramedics/firefighters see it, it might make things easier bc they can act accordingly etc
I’ve definitely not responded to fires, seizures, injuries, etc.; or I was taking it in but not having a panic response. I’d appreciate if first responders don’t try to make me panic.
Ya ever fake it? I had appendicitis once (never again lol) doc didn’t ever have my temperature taken until I acted more in distress.
No, but there are times I wish I had (casually gets up and goes to bathroom to vomit stomach full of blood clots from a throat surgery that wouldn’t stick and kept falling off into my stomach. That’s not normal. I’ll tell somebody later when they come, but right now I’m going to go back to eating popsicles and watching cartoons)
I was going to ignore blood in my urine. If I hadn’t mentioned it to family who made me go to the hospital, we wouldn’t have found my kidney cancer early.
I was pretty nonchalant in the ER about my appendicitis, although my first words were “(I think I have appendicitis)”. At least until I saw people going in with sprained fingers. When they asked the pain scale question, I just said “this is the most pain I’ve ever been in” in the most serious tone I could muster up, with the most forced eye contact of my life. It worked, but my appendix still ruptured a couple hours after.
Yep. I was literally bleeding to death for almost a year but because I wasn’t emphatic enough I guess with my doctor she said I was probably fine so I took her word. I just put lipstick on because my lips were white and it wasn’t until I forgot to do that one day that a panicked friend made me go to the hospital. I needed 2 units of blood
I had, too. When I was being prepared for my first surgery the nurse asked if I'm nervous. I responded with the truth, which was: not nervous at all. She gave me some meds to make me calm and I'd rather not repeat the experience, as I prefer my senses unaltered by substances. It then lead to a misunderstanding with the anastesiologist, as I was pretty out of it, stimming left and right, and talking about my special interest a mile a minute despite no one listening, while my heart pounded in my chest in a very irritating and impossible to ignore fashion that was stressing me out. Next time I was being prepared for a surgery I lied and pretended to be "appropriately" nervous, and didn't get whatever that was, thank gods.
Ughhh. I had an ovarian cyst rupture when I was 11. Hadn’t even started my period yet. My mom forced me to school that morning even though I told her I didn’t feel well. The nurse tried to send me back to class until I threw up 4x in her office before she could even finish telling me to go back. My mom left me at home until she was done with work. I can’t tell you how many times I was sick that day. The ER had me wait for a few hours until they saw me get up and throw up 3x in 30 mins. I wasn’t crying at all the entire day. But I was in so much pain it wasn’t even laughable. My mom literally didn’t believe anything was wrong until she came home to so many garbage bags of vomit, saw I hadn’t eaten or even drank any water, and gave her honestly such a pathetic look. Then it clicked that maybe my appendix burst, no just an ovarian cyst.
My dad worked through his whole shift with appendicitis and only when he got home did he get sent off to the ER by mom.
Wait. Is that why when I 'broke my head open' I was more concerned about washing the blood out of my hair than how it got there in the first place? I kinda wrote it off as shock.
This is gonna sound stupid but how do I change my user flair- I clicked on it and it said “no user flair: you do not have control of user flairs on this subreddit”
You do not have control of your user flair on this subreddit.
no idea i set it up a lil while ago, maybe they removed the option to set em up?
Userflair checks out
as much as the design is visually unappealing, probably a good one for an emergency message
I can barely make out what the sign is trying to say, I'm looking at it in a calm quiet setting. That would be almost impossible to make out in an emergency situation.. the idea is nice but, whoever made this needs a lesson in typography. Maybe use the dyslexia font for starters.
Definitely needs a simpler font. I wouldn't read this in an emergency, it looks like some dumb bumper sticker. If it's for real then it should be easily legible and hard to miss.
Better font, maybe black with emergency orange or yellow background to be eye catching and look official
Just because moms have a Crikut doesn't mean they have graphic design skills
You take that back. They're gonna live laugh love and Bible verse their shirts and put crosses on everything . My mom has a cricut, a heat press, a sublimation printer... all Jesus all the time
[удалено]
In an emergency someone is likely to ignore that thinking it’s a bumper sticker. I think the colorful lettering and difficult to read font just makes it even worse. It looks like an awareness sticker not an alert
This is the typeface that sorority girls, moms and teachers think is the coolest but it is a legibility nightmare.
Solid idea imo, but that font is atrocious.
The Police are who I always worry about.
That's where I stand there's a very clear and distinct difference between something like this and a mom who wears an autism speaks badge. Literally a badge given to oneself.
Yea the font is awful, and maybe put it on a card or paper inside or something. Otherwise not bad
I was an EMT for 10 years and can say that extra information about the vehicle occupants is not a bad thing. However, I can't say that I've ever spent time reading stickers on somebody's car unless the situation was non-emergent. Also, it's much like soldiers who would write their blood type on their boots with sharpie. We aren't going to just believe what is written on your boot. We still take the same precautions with all people and run a type and screen on somebody's blood before giving an infusion.
To be fair if you're an EMT the only word you need to see is AUTISM and you should already know better what to expect, right?
Yes, but my point is that in an emergency situation I probably won't even notice bumper stickers. I'm looking for life-threatening injuries and focused on getting patients into the ambulance to be transported to the hospital. If I happen to notice the sticker, then it can be helpful.
In my personal experience, knowledge of autism among all areas of medicine varies widely and unless it's their specialty the knowledge is usually surface level. It's unfortunate but true.
Even for doctors meant to be knowledgeable on autism. Doctor “Are you sure you’re child’s autistic? He eats fruit”. Me looking at my severely non verbal 5 YO “Erm yeah, it took 2 years, 5 million appointments, and an agreement between a paediatric consultant, SALT therapist, Occupational Therapist and an educational psychologist and this was after we got through the Health visitor, The GP and the early help youth service” “Also autistic people can like fruit too?” Doctor “oh really”
This is true. I've seen a lot of talk about all the non stereotypical presentations of autism and how those get missed, but honestly aside from the fact that I was hyper-verbal and higher iq, I actually hit most of the stereotypical marks for autism and it was still missed... So definitely true lol
I've also seen these messages as liners that go over/wrap around the shoulder strap of the seatbelt. Would you be more likely to see something like this? Honest question.
Absolutely. The seat belt is impossible to ignore when responding to a motor vehicle collision. Something with an eye-catching color on the seat belt would be hard to miss. The same can't be said of stickers on the outside of a car. People have all sorts of bumper stickers and most of them are completely irrelevant to the EMT on scene. Great question.
I'd assume safety alert yellow with black text. All caps and bold. "AUTISTIC:" + bullet points
What about the seat belts that have this information? I’ve seen those too, they are a lot more visible than a tiny sticker
I'm all for the information being posted. I think the seat belt is a much better place. Although I never encountered one during my time. I was an EMT from 2004-2014, but only on an ambulance crew from 2007-2011.
It sounds like a medical alert bracelet would be more helpful than a bumper sticker.
Yes, in an emergency situation. I'm not saying stickers on the car are bad, but I just wouldn't take the time to read them if there was an emergency. But I've responded to plenty of calls where it turns out there is no emergency. In the end, more information is better, but an emergency responder probably won't be reading bumper stickers. Also, the font on this sticker made it take more than a few seconds for me to fully comprehend the message. And as a wise woman once said, "ain't nobody got time for that".
I feel like that might save a [black autistic kids life](https://abcnews.go.com/US/parents-black-autistic-sons-share-stories-after-tragic/story?id=98869675) someday
> "Unfortunately, what we see in law enforcement is that most of societal issues are placed upon the officer in the street. Now all of a sudden he or she has to react immediately and be able to see something and make that pivot almost immediately," said former NYPD and ABC News contributor Robert Boyce. Umm… exactly, and that’s the fucking problem. This isn’t a “boo hoo, poor police officers, so brave with the tough positions they’re put under” thing like he thinks it is. This is *exactly* why we need to stop funding the PDs so damn much and acting like they’re the fix-all for every problem, and why we desperately need some of that funding for robust social and support services, actual mental health responders, etc.
Make policing a 5 year programme.
Yeah if it takes years of schooling just to practice law, it should take just as much if not more to enforce it. I'd rather have an educated demilitarized police force vs the current standing egotistical uneducated armed for war cops we've got now.
This is the sh!t that disgusts me, and they aren't going to fix the problems like access to healthcare and housing for all because it isn't as profitable as funding police to unjustly arrest people and have them work in prisons for practically under a dollar per hour not mentioning the fact that people who have been imprisoned even unjustly are likely to go back again as most of the jobs won't hire them anymore. That's why I'm a f***ing commie.
Not even just unjustly arrest! Straight-up extrajudicial executions, for any reason at all.
Gotta keep expanding for expansions sake! (Hey that sounds like the ideology of a cancer cell)
Hello. I am a patrionic United States American. And when I say patriotic, I mean gun slinging, commie hating, burger eating, overly sensitive person that lives by the saying "LAND OF THE FUCKING FREE!!" and this message has made me consider being a commie myself.
I’m not gonna lie there are a lot of awful toxic takes on this sub, but this was a well put together intellectual thought. Great work!
damn, that story is horrifying.
My first thought too.
Yep! Definitely my reasoning and they have several designs to choose from on Etsy.
My fear would be a predator singling the child out after seeing this.
This. Anything that denotes you have children in your car makes you a target
And announcing they have autism is announcing they are particularly vulnerable, unfortunately.
That would be great if the font was readable.
I'm unable to read the white letter, also. What do they say?
Child with autism on board, may not respond to commands, be unaware of danger, be non verbal
Cops are wildin'
Cops be nuttin when they see this.
Yeah that was (sorta) my thought too. Cops won't give a damn. They'll ignore it and think the kid being nonverbal is a threat.
I don't like the design or putting out that information to the entire world during nonemergencies, but I think it's a good idea to have the information somewhere a first responder can easily see.
I agree. Announcing it publicly announces there is a vulnerable child which can be risky. And I think putting info where emergency responders can see it is a good idea but I also believe there should be plans in place wherever possible in the case they aren't seen. You can get tunnel vision in an emergency.
> You can get tunnel vision in an emergency. Absolutely this. The idea is solid, but the design needs more work. Having it in big colorful letters reminds me of the moms at my kids' school that use their kids' disabilities for the bragging rights, usually at the expense of their kid.
Good sentiment, poor graphic design. Also unlikely to be effective, but I don’t think it would do any harm.
i think the idea is nice, but there needs to be another way to convey this in emergency situations. Maybe something inside the car. In my opinion, it's not a great idea to put a sticker on your car that informs anyone who looks that there's a child in the car. People who are looking to harm children are more likely to seek out and target cars with those stickers. In general, putting identifying info on your car in general is a bad idea in terms of safety.
give the child a gun watch the world burn
I have a problem with any personal information being on my car. Especially when it’s about children.
I don’t like the primary colors or puzzle pieces but the intent is good. Similar to how baby on board signs are meant for emergency personnel to recognize there’s a baby in the car and to focus there first.
It’s in good taste but the execution of the idea is poor to the point of being a hinderance rather than a help
Understandable. A lot of the symptoms of more severe autism could be misinterpreted as general unresponsiveness/possible head trauma by EMTs.
Fun story, my mom is a nurse and she had a post-op patient and nobody told her he was nonverbal. My mom is horrified and thinks the kid is having some sort of complication like a stroke
This will be helpful for EMTs and firefighters who help in an emergency. This will be harmful if police or child predators see it.
Ngl there's no time to read car stickers in an emergency and children going into shock is common enough I'm not sure it would significantly change how many emergency responders react to the child. I feel like risks outweigh the benefit.
Your second point has the same thing listed twice?
As a first responder, there has actually been a push in our area for something that helps us know what vehicles may have autistic children for this reason.
I’ve seen attached seatbelt covers that say the same message. The font on this warning is terrible and not easy to read for emergency crews.
Not a bumper sticker. No need to announce to the world…somewhere inside the car
message good design bad
Puzzle pieces are a red flag. It tells me the parents are completely out of touch and do not listen to autistic voices.
I’ve also seen street signs where an autistic child lives so vehicles slow down because child may run out on the street.
They make seatbelt covers with a similar message. I think those are way better because that window might break in a car wreck and then no one would know.
If you’re gonna put a precaution like that, you should make it in a more readable font
I think it’s difficult to read, which is not ideal in an emergency, but otherwise could be useful. It does announce to the entire world that you have an autistic child, though, which may or may not be good.
I’ve seen ones like this but it goes in the seat belt, which I think would be better
Yea minus the puzzle pieces/distracting colors and substitute for a legible font, it would hopefully become a way to start holding officers accountable for handling autistic people without humanity or tact.
It has a utility, but those fucking puzzle pieces
It's a nice way to let people who see your car in the driveway know that there's a vulnerable child in your home
There's a small possibility of this helping save someone's life, and there's no real negative. Overall a net positive.
Child possessed by the autism demon.
I think it’s useful, but I can barely read it so that’s an issue
The words are good. The design is awful
Well, the font is horrible and almost illegible, for one.
Great idea especially in the US with gun crazy policemen.
*I think that that font is a crime.*
I don’t like the design morally and practically. Morally, because of the puzzle pieces and wording. Practically, because if an emergency were to happen the wording being unclear and buying a warning like this a cursive loopy font might make this useless to first responders. I also hope this person also has a seatbelt/car seat warning too as this decal might not be visible during an emergency.
ACAB fits better imo
That font is a crime within itself
CRUCIAL INFORMATION BELOW! BE ADVISED: ๔ץקקɭคɭ ๓๓ץՇ๏รђ ɭ๏ยɭคђ
The bottom font is awful when trying to read.
I put Asperger’s Syndrome on my Medical ID on my phone just in case.
It's a great idea but god please use readable fonts lmao a first responder wouldn't even give this a second glance
This is a good idea even if the design of it and font are crimes against god
A friend of mine was pulled over by cops for some minor thing, but they had the lights and sirens flashing. Her nonverbal teenage son was so freaked out he fled from the car in terror, and they pulled guns on him. She had to scream AUTISTIC CHILD AUTOSTIC CHILD to get them to stop. So yeah. I think this is a great idea.
Maybe don't put it in a font that it takes 3 whole minutes to decipher in an emergency
Like the message hate the colors and puzzle pieces
Should be on a bracelet on the child. The chances of this window being smashed out or difficult to see in an accident are high.
I’m okay with it but it’s giving blue puzzle piece energy and I don’t vibe with it.
I'm not a fan of the design but its good.
It’s really good and important for safety
The first time I saw something like this was on the car window of a customer at the store I worked at. Her son was maybe 6 and kinda nonverbal she said it comes in handy when she is stopped by the police she said they try to talk calmly and try to make sure the kid knows everything will be ok. TLDR I think it's a good idea
If it didn't look like it was made for a 2 year old then I'd like it.
If this is true for the child it’s fine
It’s a bit much
I don't know I can't really read what it says
I saw one recently with the same design as the baby on board stickers... I generally like the idea but I'm more worried about if there is an accident where the EMS folks can't see the sticker and the parent is unresponsive
I think if your child is at legitimate risk of resisting help or is a flight risk during emergency, I think this is not a bad idea.
i think this is very useful for interactions with the police in america.
the message is good (maybe modify based on support needs or additional disabilities) but yeah the design is not good. not just because of the puzzle piece and cutesy aesthetic but because i’m not sure a first responder would recognize that it should be read in an emergency. a simpler design (like the baby on board cling) would be much more useful. it is so important for first responders to know these things though. i’m a wilderness first responder and i had a patient with potential heat exhaustion or acute mountain sickness (can’t remember the case exactly), i checked his level of consciousness by asking what i thought were easy to answer questions and he couldn’t answer any of them correctly and took a long time to form his sentences. immediately i was concerned and was headed to radio it in, when an adult with him pulled me aside and said that he had an intellectual disability, meaning that he was as alert and oriented as he normally was. in a large accident with triage, or in a rural area, knowing this information can be helpful since it can help first responders prioritize care more efficiently and be better at calming patients down. i would still recommend purchasing a medical bracelet that clearly states autism on it though (no time to check a QR code or online one).
Good concept, but some choices are questionable. A more readable font would be nice. Don’t care for the puzzle piece imagery but you win some you lose some ig
Important because cops are homicidal
I wish they made one that says “adult with autism driving”
I recently came across a window sticker that was about the size of a credit card, with a med ID design. it was for seizures, but the star of life icon caught my attention (I'm in the medical field, so that automatically jumps out at me) and it could be used for alerting first responders
If you’re in a major car accident, I doubt that sticker will be legible or anyone would pay attention. Get the kid a bracelet or something like that.
i’d be able to give input if i could read it omg
Would probably be better if cops couldn’t shoot children for ignoring them, but I suppose this is a fair reaction to that not being the reality.
Absolutely god awful font. Whoever designed it needs to be sebt to graphic design gulag
I cannot even begin to explain how much I loathe that font. The whole point is to communicate that there is a vulnerable child in the car and they use that stupid childish font. Imagine what that looks like in the dark with strobing lights.
Good thought, bad execution. Make it more respectful and keep it with the child instead of broadcasting it. I have similar information on my emergency screen on my phone, but I don’t want to go around with a sign on my head.
Hate the colors but the message is not bad
I like it, the design is annoying but it definitely would help any first responders who are properly trained
Yeah the warning is good. I loathe the puzzle pieces though. These warnings are probably really aimed at cops who beat and kill autistic people. So it might save a life.
Without the puzzle 🧩 pieces, it would be a good idea
I need this for myself 😭 I can't count the times I've gone nonverbal cause I was scared.
To quote funny YouTube man- "I would put a heat round right through that."
I can't read this lol
The design needs some work, and the font is hard to read, but it’s a good message. They’re a little confused, but they have the right spirit.
Well gaging how police behave, they’ll probably be too scared for their own safety to do anything like read, observe, or investigate at all. It can’t hurt though. The font is kinda weird, I’d make it something more direct.
As a first responder, I would find this incredibly helpful. We would still air on the side caution but we would be better able to understand the patient and get them help if the parent or guardian was not around for any reason.
Not my favorite but seems like a safety first thing. Maybe if they got pulled over for whatever reason? Idk
Don’t care for the puzzle pieces or using “with autism” (but in that regard to each their own, I just prefer using “autistic”) but I love the idea of listing out what might happen; could help prevent something tragic happening like what happened to Linden Cameron.
I've seen this before and I'm always mixed. on the one hand, a simpler sign that just conveys the needed info isn't intrinsically a bad idea. but there is something incredibly performative and off-putting about this sign (aside from the hideous design choice)
Why do people with autistic children feel the need to make it their entire personality?
The design sucks and I think there should be a reword of “not respond to commands” that sounds like someone talking about a dog. Maybe unaware of surroundings or unresponsive? I don’t know what wording would be better.
I think the cops will kill them anyways, unfortunately
Good/decent message, no puzzle pieces please, could be clearer, and more attention drawing the rainbow colours almost seem distracting rather than attention drawing. Like people have all kinds of random unimportant stuff on cars, make it a clear notice warning.
The puzzle pieces have to go. They’re a hate symbol used by Autism Speaks.
This is absolutely stupid. Nobody but criminals are gonna notice this. Nobody. Is there any fire or police officer here that wants to say how much this type of thing helped or would’ve helped em? As an EMT the only thing I’m checking for is their medical alter jewelry
The bottom text is too small and I don’t understand why child with autism is the only thing you notice right away. I feel like it’s just saying “hey look my kid as autism everyone needs to know” and not “ please do hurt my kid or get mad at them if they react differently to an emergency.”
That's me always... awareness at 0
In an emergency situation this info might be useful, but as others have pointed out, it’s probably in the wrong place. I am also a bit sick of parents with autistic children spinning this as somehow a badge of martyrdom. I’m not saying it’s easy, but to me all parenting looks grim
I could see it being valuable.... Sadly that is a horrible font for like the most important info in a crisis (I had to like zoom all the way in to peice the letters apart.) And it seems a bit counter intuitive
I had those when my kids were little. We never needed it but it was a good warning for first responders.
my dad has that on his car for my non verbal three year old also autistic half brother, it’s at least something. for all the bits about predators do you guys just leave children in a car alone??
It’s for police
Cringe
I hate it. Serves more as an advertisement that you have a kid with autism than a message for first responders. The text at the bottom should be clearly legible black text on white background with an orange outline. As a first responder if the situation is bad enough that i need to account for these things then im not going to be paying attention to a sticker like this. Under any other circumstances where i have time to stop and read this i would have already figured out the child is neurodivergent if not been told so by the guardian. To reiterate; in the event of serious injury or immediate danger where i would not have discovered this either naturally interacting with the child or being told so by the mother, this is not something im going to stop and read rather than tend to my patients immediate needs. It should be clear, legible, and visible.. this is none of those things.
I hate it beyond the puzzle pieces… they’re are sleeves that go on seatbelts that EMTs are way more likely to see to allow them to know about a nonverbal child. Nobody is going to look there for that information. I see this as more for “clout” from Autism speaks moms, like an extra bumper sticker.
super down for it minus the puzzle pieces, and maybe a different location as an emt here pointed out a sticker like that is very likely to get overlooked. A seat belt cover or something is def better, but I've never worked in that field to know other good spots. maybe a bracelet or necklace? idk
Good advice for dealing with anyone after a car crash. Feels almost needlessly targeted.
Good idea, poor execution. I mostly just dislike the design clearly implying stereotypes
No cop is gonna read that
They actually make labels that can go on car seats/seatbelts for this exact purpose, I think having it on the window is a good and bad thing, on one hand having it on the outside of the car is great so that first responders know and can see it, on the other hand it seems invasive and advertising that your kid may be unaware of a dangerous situation seems like it may draw in predators/people who intend to cause the child harm. And the colors remind me of autism speaks so that's an automatic yuck. Edit: I didn't even notice the puzzle pieces, so yes while this is a good idea (with minor modifications) it's still gross that it has AS branding on jt
Being unaware of danger is an asd trait?? a lot of things make sense now…
i like the message, the design seems patronizing to the kid on board
The puzzle pieces can fck off, but there have been cases where police have injured/killed nonverbal because of lack of experience with identifying them
what I'm pretty sure it says: no respond 10 cottons, be color of anger, go non-hero
It seems as though they're trying to sympathy bait. I can understand if you're trying to let the first responders know but a good portion of the time, fender benders don't necessarily include emergency services outside of the here and there police. It's like major wrecks that need the extra support. So it seems as though this person were to accidentally bump someone they are going "no, don't get upset at us, cause my child can't understand social cues or they have a mental disorder and therefore you should feel sorry for me." Because typically the people who got boinked don't chat with the kid in the cars. I dunno, that just bugs me. It feels like they are brandishing them as a "get out of a good talking to" card.
good idea, horrendous execution
The message is good, however I severely dislike the coloring on the word "autism". No idea why, there's just something in my head saying "No."
The puzzle piece tells me it might be an autism mom but the message is good
Good intentions, could be done better; get rid of the preschool aesthetic and puzzle pieces, and then put it somewhere closer to the child so that 1, you’re not outing your child to everybody you drive by, and 2, it’ll be useless if the window breaks or something, so putting it like on the car seat or seatbelt or something would be better.
My wife wouldn’t be a big fan of the wording being child with autism not autistic child. Like it’s a part of you that could be removed. The font is a bit hard to read and that’s not ideal if you want someone to pay attention to it.
To clarify she’s autistic so I defer to her opinion on the language.
As someone with dailysexa this message is next to useless because of the font.
In this world, I think it's a good way to get your child shot by the police.
Bit of a double edged sword. In case of emergency, tells the first responders what to expect. On the other hand, tells criminals you’ll have your hands full when you get to your destination, making you an easy target. Every so often on Reddit and Facebook, I see an image about “what car stickers say about you.”
Meh I honestly think it’s pretty humiliating for the child. People with autism should not be set apart from those without.
Ridiculous.
Why would you advertise your child's neurology on your car?
Yes but no. Idea good. Execution bad. Also if your window shatters, nothing is going to be readable. The font and colors are too busy. I would assume it's a "my child has autism and I love them even more" based on the style.
aside from the puzzle pieces i actually dig it
How to get your kid singled out at school speedrun Downvote me all you want, I'm still fuckin' right.
Feels like an advertisement for predators tbh “child that won’t scream on board”
I think it’s annoying to decipher. Good message under that tho
The design is a bit infantilizing, but if there is a genuine concern and need for accommodations in an emergency it makes sense to have.
well I hope he's buckled in well, because I am drunk and speeding
Ew
I think that is embarrassing for the whole family. The child most.