Bright Minds, Bright Colors

♾️ April is Autism Awareness Month! ♾️ A thing that I think people are glad that they are aware of once they know is that the jigsaw puzzle piece that is often used to represent autism and folks with autism is a symbol that many people with autism have expressed displeasure with. Some folks see that and see a representation of something that is somehow not complete or needs fixing, something other than good energy and respect for diversity. The puzzle piece dates back to the early 1960s when it was introduced by a parent and member of The National Autistic Society in London.  They were providing services and support and education around autism. (in the 1960s!) I expect they were doing good work and from their perspective autism was a puzzle and they took that symbol as a positive thing and maybe the puzzle piece was motivational to them, but one thing they didn't do back then was get input from autistic people regarding how they would feel being represented by a puzzle piece. This really does happen all the time where just recognizing that a particular perspective exists is helpful. Folks rocking a puzzle piece hat or whatever today are not being mean or doing anything other than showing support.  And the community has embraced a new symbol that is an infinity symbol, often colored in the full spectrum of colors. Happy Hump Day!