As for Autism Speaks, we have never even heard of it before the mention in the comments here. What they do or do not preach has absolutely no bearing on the design or our use of the puzzle piece.
We (me, my husband, our autistic son, and my husbands other son with Asperger's) use the puzzle piece. Just like puzzle pieces, no two people or autism diagnoses are exactly the same. We all struggle with trying to fit the particular puzzle piece that is ourselves into this world and society... autism or not. The uniqueness of each of us and the celebration and recognition of that is what makes us stronger... We each provide a different piece of the greater puzzle of the world. It boggles my mind that so many are taking this symbol of individuality and uniqueness and how we can all fit together, and turning it into something dark. If you dislike the puzzle piece for your own reasons, that's fine. Don't use it. This is honestly the first instance I and anyone in my family has even heard of the puzzle piece meaning "something missing". To us it has always been a representation of uniqueness in every autistic person and a celebration of that. For us, it is a puzzle piece, not a missing puzzle piece. We plan to continue to use the puzzle piece in the exact way we see it... as a celebration of the uniqueness of every individual regardless of their diagnosis on the spectrum.
Hey, you might now be aware of this, but this pattern looks very similar to the logo of an ableist company - autism speaks. I understand if you’re not educated, and this may be a more personal thing, but it is offensive and you could have easily made this and not posted it. If you aren’t aware about autism speaks then maybe you could research them so you wont make mistakes in the future. I understand it isn’t the actual logo - it is just very similar and not a nice symbol at all 🙂
NOTE to all: There's a reason we all use specific symbols to signify something. My son who is autistic has gravitated to the puzzle piece, which is why in this design or possible future designs the puzzle piece is used. The puzzle piece signifies that we are all different is some way... not that anything is missing, but different. Some people use the infinity rainbow symbol, other's use the puzzle piece. We are all different in what we choose and why we choose it.
NOTE to all: There's a reason we all use specific symbols to signify something. My son who is autistic has gravitated to the puzzle piece, which is why in this design or possible future designs the puzzle piece is used. The puzzle piece signifies that we are all different is some way... not that anything is missing, but different. Some people use the infinity rainbow symbol, other's use the puzzle piece. We are all different is what we choose and why we choose it.
as an autistic person, i can confirm that we do not use the puzzle piece symbol. it symbolises that there is something missing in our brains, which there is not. we just think and develop differently, and experience the world in different ways to neurotypical people. instead, we use the rainbow infinity symbol. the puzzle piece symbol is also related to autism speaks, which is an incredibly ableist and horrible company. please do not use the puzzle piece symbol (:
BoundFrnds
