Public see jigsaw piece symbol of ASD negatively - survey

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http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2017 ... evoke.html

Personally, I detest it.

No matter what it was replaced with there will always be a group that hates it and another that loves it.

Seeing a puzzle piece to me is a reminder that there's a bigger picture, and should discourage people from making judgements when there's so much they aren't seeing in just that one piece.

Some people interpret it as "a puzzle is a problem to be solved" which is an angle I don't care for.

Different interpretations are possible.

One of the reasons I detest it is that it was its use by Autism Speaks (who lifted it from the NAS in the UK) to represent "autistic children and their families", as if autism is limited to children, ignoring the fact that the vast mass of autistic people are not children and not represented by that kind of misleading representation. Symbols and slogans can be used to marginalise as well as represent, and the jigsaw symbol is so identified with Autism Speaks now that it is more representative of their values than autistic people. It's contaminated.

The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) uses a seven-colored heptagonal symbol to represent both the autistic spectrum and the idea of diversity. Some examples, including the seven coloured ASAN symbol I prefer here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_ri ... symbol.gif

I don't care much for the puzzle piece.

I am not a puzzle to be dissected but a human.

That is why Autism Speaks stole it.

I'm indifferent to it - it's just a logo to me. ( that might be because I don't have Dx but I doubt it ).

If I was going to design a logo for Autism that was puzzle related it would be along the lines of stop trying to bang a square peg into a round hole ( i.e you'll get it in eventually but damage the peg )

The logo doesn't really matter all that much. I always kinda liked it, but then my life's great hope is to find some place where I "fit". I like the rainbow thingie too, on the principle that "It takes all kinds."

I don't know how much it matters what the image is. I care more about the rhetoric behind it.

But I guess the image is telling. That's what we are to them, to the best of them, the ones who care or anyway want to care. That's the way it is. We can demand to supplant the image with a smiling, dancing flower-- we're always going to be garbage to someone.

At first glance, the puzzle piece appears to be a symbol that more represents children with Autism and not adults like many of us are now and who still struggle greatly with ASD and Asperger's. What I do detest is the notion that Autism in the public eye is ONLY perceived as a childhood ailment and not a real problem for adults too. So, the puzzle piece does irk me somewhat because it is mis-representative of a problem that affects ALL ages.

And for guys like me in their 40s who struggle painfully everyday with being a severe Aspie, I think another symbol should be used to tell ALL of our tales not just the children we used to be but still feel like. I think it is a point of condescending attitudes and perceptions that Aspies can do without.

I know we have gifted artists and graphic designers here. Hope one or more will create a civilised, insightful and creative symbol that will stand as an exemplar and masterpiece. Strength to your arms, who knows, Alex may choose to wear it... me too.

The key issue with the jigsaw symbol is it evokes childish associations. A kid playing with toys, so it makes people look down on us.

Maybe a better symbol would be a human head with a question mark in the middle to convey the sense of social confusion and lack of theory of mind?

I loathe the puzzle piece so much I can hardly stand even the sight of real jigsaw puzzles anymore. They might as well be putting up Swastikas as a symbol of Holocaust awareness.