S. Carolina: First state with "Autism, Neurodivergent" license plate; more will hopefully follow

Oct 15, 2025 My Horry News: South Carolina autism license plate first of its kind in the nation

https://www.myhorrynews.com/news/south-carolina-autism-license-plate-first-of-its-kind-in-the-nation/article_f1dbfb4b-25df-48a7-88c3-fe66dd69985f.html

Layla Luna had a difficult experience with law enforcement in Los Angeles and that prompted her to launch a nationwide crusade.

South Carolina was the first beneficiary.

The founder and CEO of Just Bee, which is an organization for autism awareness, is in the middle of an ongoing effort to have all 50 states create a special license plate which identifies at least one occupant of the vehicle as autistic or neurodivergent.

South Carolina became the first state earlier in the year to approve the plate after the General Assembly passed Rio's Law, named after Luna's son.

Needless to say, Luna was thrilled about the enactment of the law.

"It's a huge help," Luna said. "It's going to save lives."

Luna was driving on a freeway in Los Angeles with her son when she was stopped by a law enforcement officer. Rio, who has autism, had a reaction to the siren and lights and bit his mother on the wrist, leaving her with a big scar.  . . .

Luna, in her quest, is looking at all sides of the issue. She understands the dilemma officers face.

"Not only is this to protect the individual, or the parents, if you're an officer, you got seconds to decide," Luna said. "If you meet someone who's like 6-3, 250 pounds, pupils completely dilated because most of them are on meds. Also, they might take off. They might become aggressive.

"A sensory overload goes within seconds. If you're the officer and you make the wrong decision, you could potentially lose your job. You have to live with the fact that you made the wrong decision. You could potentially hurt someone with autism. Then the lawsuits come in. We've seen this. It's all over the news."

Now, there are safeguards in South Carolina because of Rio's Law.

The Autism Awareness license plate is sponsored by the South Carolina Autism Society. To obtain one, a person fills out a disability plate application (Form RG-007A) and a specialty plate application (Form MV-95) from the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles.

Those forms can be downloaded, or picked up at any DMV location. . . .

The license plate features the Just Bee logo on the left side. That lets law enforcement and first responders know someone in the vehicle is autistic or neurodivergent. Neurodivergent means having a brain that develops or functions differently.

And the license plate is critical in order for officers to determine what they are dealing with. . . .

Overall, Luna is pleased with the progress of her organization's effort, especially with South Carolina taking the lead.

"It's amazing and we have legislation going into North Carolina," she said. "Hopefully, North Carolina and Georgia are going to do it, too."