According to “The Ableist History of the Puzzle Piece Symbol for Autism,” an article from the website, In the Loop about Neurodiversity, “the puzzle piece is the most commonly recognized symbol for autism awareness.”[1] Autism Speaks, the most recognized autism educational organization, even uses this symbol as their logo. However, because of the symbol’s origins, the puzzle piece is controversial in the autism community.
What are its origins? In the early 1960s, Gerald Gasson, a board member of the United Kingdom-based National Autistic Society, created the image to suggest that “autistic people suffered from a ‘puzzling’ condition…” Mr. Gasson and the other board members decided to adopt “a logo of a puzzle piece with a weeping child, displaying the notion that autism is a tragedy that children suffer from.” As a result of this view of autism, many people were forced into unwanted treatments and made to feel like they were broken and needed to be fixed.
I can certainly understand why this notion is upsetting. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) isn’t a tragedy, and people with autism aren’t broken. Autistic brains work differently than neurotypical brains. That’s it. Pure and simple.
Personally, I like the idea of using a puzzle piece to represent autism, but I don’t see its symbolism the way it was originally intended.
When Seth was young, I was, admittedly, very confused by his behavior. I had no idea why he was responding to the world the way he was. I had to do a lot of detective work to figure out what was going on and how to help him. In a way, I was solving a puzzle – but not to “cure” him of autism. Seth wasn’t even officially diagnosed with ASD until he was 16. What I was doing was collecting pieces of information and watching for patterns – to give me a clearer picture of what he was trying to communicate – and what he needed from me to feel more comfortable in a world that wasn’t built for kids like him – or me.
I was recently “soft” diagnosed with autism myself, and over the course of writing my book, Mending Together, Building Together, a lot of my own missing puzzle pieces started appearing. Those pieces continue to come together, and I am getting a better picture of what I have gone through and continue to deal with. Some of the pieces are worn and others don’t fit smoothly, but I do my best to make it work. Nobody’s perfect.
In a way, we are all trying to solve our own puzzles – all of us – not just people with autism or those with a trauma history. Each of us is a hodgepodge of experiences and characteristics that somehow come together to create the unique masterpieces that are human beings. Perhaps if we can look at ourselves and each other that way, we will see that nobody is broken. We are all just put together differently.
What do you think about the puzzle piece symbol? Drop a comment and share your thoughts.
[1] Cassandra Crosman, The Ableist History of the Puzzle Piece Symbol for Autism, March 20, 2019; “https://intheloopaboutneurodiversity.wordpress.com/2019/03/20/the-ableist-history-of-the-puzzle-piece-symbol-for-autism/” (accessed December 10, 2024)
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