Billboard companies often get a bum rap from all manner of groups complaining about how their signs are despoiling the countryside. But that doesn't make them a heartless lot.

Look no further than I-190 between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Alongside the road, a billboard owned by Lamar Outdoor Advertising reads: “Buy a home for autism.”

There's a picture of Monica Moshenko and her 14-year-old son Alex, who is autistic. The two are pictured standing in front of their four-bedroom home in Clarence, outside of Buffalo.

It's been a rough couple of years. Moshenko lost her job at the University of Buffalo, where she had worked for 17 years. She hasn't been able to find a new one.

“So we came to the conclusion that we wanted to broaden our horizons, make lemonade out of lemons,” Moshenko tells Media Life

Their plan was to sell the house and buy a bus or RV and embark on a nationwide tour to enlighten people about autism. But the housing market being what it is, they received no offers.

Then they came up with an idea: advertise.

Moshenko called Lamar Outdoor Advertising. “I left a message, and then a wonderful young girl came to our house,” Moshenko says. “She said, ‘I’m going to do whatever I can to help you guys.’”

She meant it. Lamar agreed to let the family put up a sign for a month, waving the cost, about $4,000. Moshenko’s other son Nick designed the ad, and up it went in late October.

So far, no buyer has come forth, and that's left Moshenko a bit discouraged, but she has hope, with a week still to go before her ad is due to come down.

Since losing her job, Moshenko has devoted her time to “Disability News & Views,” a radio show she began at a local radio station before moving it online to DisabilityNewsRadio.com. The show focuses on various disability issues and has had featured big-name guests such as Jenny McCarthy, Henry Winkler and the most recent winner of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.”