Your feelings about puzzle piece logos of autism charities?

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How do you feel about the puzzle piece logo?
I love it. 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
I hate it. 20%  20%  [ 6 ]
I kind of like it. 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
I kind of dislike it. 20%  20%  [ 6 ]
No opinion and no feelings one way or the other. 40%  40%  [ 12 ]
Mixed feelings. 17%  17%  [ 5 ]
Total votes : 30

Mona Pereth
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05 Oct 2021, 3:15 pm

How do you feel about the puzzle piece logos that are used by many autism charities?

(Note that the autism charities in question are led not by autistic people, but by parents and/or professionals.)

Please answer the poll question off the top of your head. If you are unfamiliar with any controversies about the puzzle piece, please don't read up on them (or read any comments in this thread) before answering the poll.

In comments, let's discuss the history of the puzzle piece logo and reactions thereto.


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funeralxempire
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05 Oct 2021, 3:30 pm

I feel like it's a pretty strong indicator that they're aligned with AS, which tends to make me skeptical of if they're actually able to benefit people with ASD.


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05 Oct 2021, 3:34 pm

I remember years ago wearing a ribbon badge with a pattern of colourful puzzle pieces on it. I liked wearing it for the way it looked. I thought it represented the NAS or something.


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05 Oct 2021, 3:59 pm

A symbol is not the thing it represents.


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Nades
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05 Oct 2021, 4:16 pm

I mostly dislike them. It's just another reminder to me and everyone else that autism is still seen as a disorder only infantile kids and adults have. They might as well have a baby rattle on them for good measure.

I have no idea what their obsession is with making these logos as colourful and childish as possible. They always look like something designed by toddlers and indeed.......that's the whole intention because they see us as little more than toddlers and people who always remain perpetual children.

The biggest ASD charity near me has a building with exactly the same huge logo you described in it's glorious vomit inducing colour across the entire front of the building. It's genuinely embarrassing to walk into it as it looks like the front of a nursery and to be honest, even this websites logo is something you would see on the front of a nursery.



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05 Oct 2021, 5:07 pm

Well...I might not be too fond of a blue puzzle piece. Otherwise I'm indifferent to the use of a single puzzle piece.

I admit I sort of like the Autism Society's multi-piece puzzle pattern.
----I think it is widely recognized and distinctly associated with Autism.
----I see the world as a puzzle and I think many people see me as a puzzle.
----A completed puzzle is a success.
When I was talking about awareness ribbons with my bride she asked me what color the Autism Awareness ribbon was--I liked being able to respond correctly "It's complicated."
(She's ADHD and I think orange is a good color for her ribbon--sort of a warning label! :) )

I am inclined to like the gold infinity for "Autism Acceptance" of Autistic UK. But for Autism Acceptance, which is how I feel about my Autism.

And I'm accepting but not overly fond of Autism symbols that explicitly show a spectrum--even though it is a spectrum disorder (it's not the only one, however!). I think another community cornered the market on that color scheme--it's sort of their trademark, isn't it? (And, yes, I know many of my WP posts use a spectrum of colors when I refer to the Autism Spectrum. My only excuse is I'm an Aspie and I think it is fun to play with the BBcodes.)


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Nades
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05 Oct 2021, 5:17 pm

Double Retired wrote:
Well...I might not be too fond of a blue puzzle piece. Otherwise I'm indifferent to the use of a single puzzle piece.

I admit I sort of like the Autism Society's multi-piece puzzle pattern.
----I think it is widely recognized and distinctly associated with Autism.
----I see the world as a puzzle and I think many people see me as a puzzle.
----A completed puzzle is a success.
When I was talking about awareness ribbons with my bride she asked me what color the Autism Awareness ribbon was--I liked being able to respond correctly "It's complicated."
(She's ADHD and I think orange is a good color for her ribbon--sort of a warning label! :) )

I am inclined to like the gold infinity for "Autism Acceptance" of Autistic UK. But for Autism Acceptance, which is how I feel about my Autism.

And I'm accepting but not overly fond of Autism symbols that explicitly show a spectrum--even though it is a spectrum disorder (it's not the only one, however!). I think another community cornered the market on that color scheme--it's sort of their trademark, isn't it? (And, yes, I know many of my WP posts use a spectrum of colors when I refer to the Autism Spectrum. My only excuse is I'm an Aspie and I think it is fun to play with the BBcodes.)



I have a dislike of both the puzzle pieces and the colours. While colours are great at representing a spectrum, when it's associated with autism, there is something implicitly childish about their combination together.

Google image "Autism" and have a look at the results. They consist entirely of pictures of children and bright colours. I think there needs to be a fundamental shift away from how autism is specifically portrayed. I actually find the current portrayal of autism right down to the logos to be deeply humiliating and extremely infantilizing to the upmost.

The Rolling Stones "Paint it black" comes to mind. Even no logo at all is a considerable improvement. Hell, even a logo of a noose is better.



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05 Oct 2021, 5:31 pm

I dislike it, mostly the colors I guess, I also dislike when people color the word spectrum in rainbow colors.
But it's not important to me.

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05 Oct 2021, 6:41 pm

It feels irrelevant for me.



Because I associate it with foreign autism communities.

From where I came from, the color scheme is typically green or blue on white or beige.
More about symbols and depictions of family or community than, say, whatever it is associated around shapes and ribbons.

Rainbows are rare. In fact, if I see any rainbow like color scheme with autism attached to it...
It becomes more... Pediatric, designed for and by teachers and parents.
But otherwise, a native copying stuff from the west, thought it was a 'right' one knowing colonial mentality. :lol:


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05 Oct 2021, 9:18 pm

funeralxempire wrote:
I feel like it's a pretty strong indicator that they're aligned with AS, which tends to make me skeptical of if they're actually able to benefit people with ASD.


I feel similarly.


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06 Oct 2021, 2:24 am

I have a green puzzle piece tattooed on my right wrist. I got it shortly after being diagnosed with autism. I had no idea about certain associations having the puzzle piece as their logo.

I like my tattoo, it has kept its bright green colour very well.



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06 Oct 2021, 2:40 am

Edna3362 wrote:
It feels irrelevant for me.



Because I associate it with foreign autism communities.

Same here.
I'm aware of all the A$ crap but it's not really present here.

I like jigsaw puzzles and when I processed my diagnosis, it felt like the the key connecting all my little memories has been finally found and they started to be part of a bigger picture - like my memories were puzzle pieces and ASD was the missing rule on how to connect them. Once connected, they started to show a coherent picture of who I am and what I feel.

So, I'd be fine with the symbol if it wasn't for its associations.


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06 Oct 2021, 5:08 am

Not a fan. Like some others here, I associate it with A$. I'd much prefer the gold or rainbow infinity symbol.


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06 Oct 2021, 8:13 am

I hate it.

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06 Oct 2021, 8:31 am

My feeling is that it is a childish symbol, and it was created by parents of children with autism in a desperate attempt to make autism seem not as serious as it is. It is large, colorful and a simple pattern.

I worked in the developmental disabilities field and there are so many services for autistic children and not for adults with autism. Of course, that is true of all the developmental disabilities.

I've also got to say that, in my experience, it is the parents of children with autism who don't grow up and treat their adult children as six-year-olds, unable to do anything for themselves. Drives me nuts. A lot of them get guardianship. It is easy to do here if your child has a diagnosis of autism. And then they control absolutely everything in your life.

As Nades said, I also was turned off by the logo for this website and did not explore it until I could not find anything else at the time.


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06 Oct 2021, 9:43 am

Dont like it.

I used the infinity symbol in my work email signature.


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