Symbols have important meaning
 
for marginalized groups and in
 
the case of autism, some are
 
preferred over others


Puzzle piece(s):
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The puzzle piece is a divisive symbol with most members of the autistic community strongly disliking it, but there are still those that defend it. According to its supporters, the puzzle piece represents the complexity and the unknowns of autism. It has long been a symbol of autism, since its use by the NAS (National Autistic Society) to represent the “puzzling condition” along with the image of a crying child, but more recently the autistic community has been pushing back against the symbol for its implication that autism is a puzzle that needs to be solved rather than a unique and valid neurotype, because of its childish connotations, and because of its use by ableist organizations like Autism Speaks who until recently sought to cure autism.

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Rainbow infinity:
 

Instead of the puzzle piece image, many self-advocates have adopted the rainbow infinity symbol as the symbol of their community. Both the rainbow and the infinity symbol represent the variety and spectrum of neurodivergent identities and experiences.

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​The color blue:

The “Light it Up Blue” campaign for Autism Awareness Month in April was started by Autism Speaks to raise awareness for autism. It has been rejected as ableist by most of the community because of Autism Speak’s focus and budgeting for a cure (up until recently) and the tonal similarity between autism awareness month and cancer awareness month. While the color blue is meant to represent calm according to Autism Speaks, some autistic people associate it with the harmful stereotype that only boys can have autism.

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The color Red:
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Because of the problems with “Light It Up Blue”, many autistic people have adopted red as the disability’s official color. The community has started the “Red Instead” campaign both in opposition to “Light it Up Blue”, and to shift the focus from awareness to acceptance, prioritizing language of inclusion.

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THE Autism Creature / TBH creature:
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"The Autism Creature" or "TBH creature" is an informal joke symbol to represent autism that was originally created by @acmeiku on twitter. It was popularized on the internet as a "meme" amongst autistic people, and has become quite prominent. 
 
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​Symbols: