Is It Time To Ditch The Autism Puzzle Piece?

[AGXStarseed]

(Not written by me)

Long associated with autism, new research is questioning whether or not the ubiquitous puzzle piece serves as a pro or con for organizations tied to the developmental disorder.

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.”


Source: Is It Time To Ditch The Autism Puzzle Piece?

 

[Manuheleku]

I'm kind of gravitating towards the neurodiversity symbol myself.

 

[Judge]

I've always thought the puzzle logo was indicative of how Neurotypical parents relate to their Neurodiverse children.

This might work for organizations like Autism Speaks, however I stopped being "a puzzle" to myself the day when I finally acknowledged as an adult, the likelihood of my always having been on the spectrum of autism.

When it all came together to understand who- and what I am. And that I'm ok with it.

I'm not "lost" anymore. I'm "found".

 

[Keigan]

I'm fond of showing people my middle finger.

 

[Streetwise]

I'm fond of showing people my middle finger.

What is on your middle finger? Thanks

 

[Keigan]

What is on your middle finger? Thanks

Not a puzzle piece.

 

[Streetwise]

Not a puzzle piece.

Oh thanks

 

[Alaska]

I didn't like the puzzle piece even before I knew about the negative associations. That is the last thing we need, using negative associations against ourselves. There are plenty of others willing to do that for us.

 

[Keigan]

For myself the puzzle piece has significance because the discovery of my AS makes everything fit - though I completely accept and celebrate my AS as it is not a mystery and I am no longer a mystery, certainly nothing to be solved.

 

[vangelis]

I don't have a problem with it - fully get the parent/child analogy that Judge alluded to above.
Its nice to be mysterious sometimes...

 

[Pariah Dog]

I was not even aware of the puzzle piece or autism/asperger having any symbol associated to it. I'm am not sure how I feel about that. My first reaction was to find it slightly offensive. However maybe it makes sense.

Like "Judge" I'm am also not a puzzle to myself. Once I learned about Asperger's in my late 20's and read more thoroughly about it in my 30's so much more of my life and myself just made sense. It just explains much of what I am who I am. This forum was the first time I have been able to connect with others with similar peculiarities.

 

[pax]

I've never liked the puzzle piece. I find it a bit offensive. It's the NTs saying "we must ram you square pegs into round holes and make all pieces fit our picture!"

 

[hutchie]

ARGH Autism Rights Group Highland up in Inverness have a badge, tried looking for it on their web site but couldn't find it, but I have one anyway, be good to to get a picture of it, I think it's a strong contender, it looks good.

 

[Rasendra]

I love jigsaw puzzles myself and being mysterious can be cool..... but I agree that it probably isn't the best representation for autism. It fits more as a neurotypical's view of us that does seem to put us down a bit instead of something to be proud of. It would be nice to have a better symbol, though I can't think of a better one off the top of my head.

Has anyone seen other symbols or thought of other ones that might be preferable to accurately represent us in a positive light?

 

[Butterfly88]

I think we should keep the puzzle piece but more education should be done to create positive associations with puzzle pieces.

 

[Dr. Smart]

Hmm I always assumed it was a reference to autism special interests and skills, like saying people with autism have good puzzle solving skills, though I personally don't relate to that and it raises the whole "savant" misconception... Personaly I've never liked the symbol all that much but never thought of it in the way mentions above.

Also targeted advertisement ftw...

 

[dragoncat16]

As someone who used to enjoy assembling puzzles as a child, I don't really have any negative connotations from a puzzle piece, but I can see how some would think of it as a problem to be solved and then when the last piece is in place somehow everything is magically alright and complete, but that's not really how life works.

However, if we are looking for a new symbol, then, for me, a tree comes to mind. I have been reading about the concept of "synaptic pruning" as it relates to brain development in children. In children, the brain grows a massive inteconnectivity of neurons which peaks around age 2. After that, in NT people, unneeded and redundant connections are discarded, leading to a more efficient adult brain. In people with ASD, fewer of these connections are discarded, leaving more interconnections, and this can result in such symptoms as sensory overload, synesthesia, and also savantism. This probably leads to a deficiency in mirror neurons, as well, because of all the other connections already in place. Also, individual neurons of people with ASD have more "branches" than those of NT people or those affected by antisocial personality disorder. So, both the neurons themselves and the interconnectivity within the brain look like a tree. See, e.g., https://www.quora.com/Can-autistics-be-psychopaths, https://msilvertant.quora.com/Synaptic-growth-synesthesia-savant-abilities Children with Autism Have Extra Synapses in Brain - Columbia University Medical Center

Therefore, the symbol I would put forward is that of a tree with many multicoloured branches (to represent the brain/neurons and also the potential of the person with ASD) but also with roots below the tree but equally as dense (to represent the support structure from family, friends, and each other). But I also like the infinity symbol Manuheleku proposed so maybe incorporate that in the background or as part of the tree. I can see this in my head but I'm not a very good artist. If you have heard of the Yggdrasil from Norse mythology (google it if not), that's something like what I mean.

 

[xDominiel]

I like the asterisk *.
Small, at the bottom, a footnote to the rest, but possessing the power to change it all.
And ignoring it is not recommended.