COMMERCE, Ga. - A man from Commerce, Georgia brings the pieces of the puzzle together for Autism Awareness.
Casha Daniels, 31, had a thought one day to paint puzzle pieces on his old ’54 Ford to raise awareness for autism.
Daniels enjoys taking his truck to meet autistic kids and allowing them to sign their name in the puzzle piece that has been painted on his truck. “It’s a work in progress,” said Daniels. “One of my best friends step-sons has autism and I knew April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day. Everyone has been recognizing my “Georgia G’s” truck, so I met with my friend who is a tattoo artist and he freehanded the puzzle pieces on my truck.”
Some of the children that Daniels meets are severely autistic, and only say few words. “When they get in my truck and smile with joy, the kids start saying more words than they ever have!”
Some of the photos on Daniel’s Facebook page have been shared all around the world from Russia to Las Vegas. The majority of visitors ask to see the truck to become a part of his project.
“It has only been a few weeks since this project has started and in 24 hours the Facebook post had over 10,000 likes and shares. I try to respond to as many Facebook fans as I can.”
Daniel’s Facebook page also has photos of all the kids that he has met throughout the project.
Most of the awareness about Daniel’s mission has been through word of mouth and on social media. “A lot of people see my truck on the road and ask me about it. The truck has ballooned into it’s own little campaign for autism awareness.”
Daniel’s truck currently has ten names so far, all boys. Daniels is hoping to meet a girl with Autism and have a girl sign her name. “Parents from all over Georgia and around the country are reaching out to me about the truck. This mission has taught me so much about Autism. I started this because I wanted to spread awareness. Autism was something I never really learned about growing up.”
In a Facebook post on the World Austism Awareness Day page, Daniels said, “At a loss for words right now. Thank you all and I hope that I have to paint all the fenders and fill them up with names. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the smile that comes from each and every one that I meet with the old truck is priceless.”