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The puzzle piece... An appropriate symbol of autism?

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lostonearth35
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10 Jul 2018, 1:44 pm

When you look at a skull on something that is poisonous, you can interpret it to mean different things, like that it will turn you into a pirate if you drink it, or that it was made from human bones. But no matter how you look at it, it still means poison. :skull:

You can interpret the puzzle piece any way you like, but what it *really* means is that autistic people are supposed to be broken, incomplete, and a human tragedy. :x



warrier120
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10 Jul 2018, 3:40 pm

The only reason why I see the puzzle piece as a bad symbol for autism is because of the organization that made it popular, Autism Speaks. AS is known for dehumanizing and devaluing autistic people, especially through commercials such as "I Am Autism" and "Autism Every Day." In "I Am Autism," a voice claiming to be autism claims that it will do terrible things such as keep entire families awake at night and cause divorce. In "Autism Every Day," one AS board member infamously stated that she contemplated driving off a bridge with her autistic daughter, who was IN THE SAME ROOM HEARING ALL OF THIS at the time. The only reason why she didn't commit the murder-suicide was because of her NT child at home. The film people even made the NT sibling say that she wished she didn't have an autistic sister on camera, also WHILE HER SISTER WAS IN THE SAME ROOM. The National Autistic Society in the UK once used a puzzle piece with a crying child in the center as their logo, but they got rid of it in an effort to actively include and support autistic people.

I do not think the puzzle piece symbol is inherently bad, as it could be seen from multiple interpretations. However, it is associated with Autism Speaks most of the time.


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mr_bigmouth_502
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10 Jul 2018, 3:47 pm

SaveFerris wrote:
I think the TEC-9 would be a good autism logo :twisted:

Heheheh, I love it.


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ASPartOfMe
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10 Jul 2018, 6:34 pm

Autism Speaks did not invent the puzzle piece.
Is It Time To Ditch The Autism Puzzle Piece?

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Dating to at least the 1960s, puzzle pieces have commonly been used to denote autism. The imagery is currently employed by Autism Speaks, the Autism Society of America and numerous other groups in one form or another and puzzle pieces grace everything from t-shirts and pins to credit cards and license plates.

However, many people on the spectrum object to the icon, arguing that it represents those with autism as mysterious, disconnected and needing to fit in. And now a new study published in the journal Autism is adding credence to their view, finding that public perception of puzzle pieces is largely negative.

For the research, 400 members of the general public were asked to categorize various shapes, concepts like “grief” or “cheer” and puzzle pieces — both generic and those used by autism organizations — during a series of quick online exercises. Subsequently, study subjects completed a questionnaire that asked them about their first impressions when they saw a shape or a puzzle piece.

Researchers found that study participants were much faster and more accurate when they were asked to categorize puzzle pieces in a way that was associated with negative connotations. Moreover, both generic puzzle pieces and those used as autism logos evoked adverse associations, the study found.

“Participants associated puzzle pieces with imperfection, incompletion, uncertainty, difficulty, the state of being unsolved, and, most poignantly, being missing,” according to findings published online this month from researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Ursinus College and the University of Kentucky.

“If an organization’s intention for using puzzle-piece imagery is to evoke negative associations, our results suggest the organization’s use of puzzle-piece imagery is apt,” the study authors wrote. “However, if the organization’s intention is to evoke positive associations, our results suggest that puzzle-piece imagery should probably be avoided.”


I am not a puzzle but a living breathing human. If you are puzzled by us that is your problem to solve.


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warrier120
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10 Jul 2018, 8:17 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:
Autism Speaks did not invent the puzzle piece.

Thanks for the clarification. What I meant to say was that Autism Speaks and other prominent anti-autism organizations are well-known for using the puzzle piece symbol.


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Tequila
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10 Jul 2018, 8:28 pm

warrier120 wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:
Autism Speaks did not invent the puzzle piece.

Thanks for the clarification. What I meant to say was that Autism Speaks and other prominent anti-autism organizations are well-known for using the puzzle piece symbol.


It was invented in 1963. See here.



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10 Jul 2018, 9:16 pm

Tequila wrote:
xatrix26 wrote:
Regardless of whoever came up with the idea of using a puzzle piece to describe those of us who are ASD, I think the symbol itself and the various colours used on it, namely the rainbow colours, do seem appropriate somehow.

As Autistics we do come across as something of a puzzlement to NTs, and the colours themselves represent the many differences between us all who are on the spectrum as Autism is a spectrum disorder in itself as well with many variances in severity and effect.

Although I do see that some may think that it might be too child-like a symbol to represent Autistics, even us well-matured adults, we do have to admit that Autism has had that effect on our inherent maturity levels.
I can recall many threads in the past in these forums where many of us have questioned whether we are child-like in nature and whether or not this is a coincidence or a major factor in being Autistic.

Let the puzzle piece stand I say, I kind of like it now anyways and I've grown to accept it.


It implies we need fixing. There is a piece missing.


A rather negative assumption I think. This might also imply that NTs are perfect and ASDs are not. No Tequila, your assessment is quite misplaced.


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Tequila
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10 Jul 2018, 9:18 pm

Do you want to be called mentally handicapped?



Aavikkorotta
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10 Jul 2018, 9:56 pm

How about something like a picture of a brain, with the colors inverted?
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Aavikkorotta
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10 Jul 2018, 10:08 pm

Or a planet shaped like a brain? (sorry, I made it sorta hastily)
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