The puzzle piece is not offensive, and here's why!
(TW: Mentions of death and suffering). Be prepared for bad grammar, aswell!
Hi! i am autistic and i have studied autism and our community for years. For me personally the puzzle piece is very important, as it represents me the best and i feel safe with it. A big part of the autism community seems to have a negative view on the puzzle piece, but i have never understood why. I have read many articles about it, and i have heard many explanations on why the puzzle piece is offensive, but they all spread misinformation or/and don't make sense.
I have a autism awareness account on tiktok and i use the puzzle piece as my pfp, and because of this i argue with people everyday about why the puzzle piece is offensive. I'm a bit done with it, so i have decided to make this post explaining why the puzzle piece is not offensive, and it is totally fine to use. Whenever i have a argument, i will show them this post, so i don't have to explain myself over and over again.
This post will include debunking arguments on why the puzzle piece is offensive, a explanation of what the puzzle piece is, the history of the puzzle piece and why people use the puzzle piece. I can only use 10 pictures, so i will probably be using links. This post will be massive. Anyway, enjoy!
What is the puzzle piece?
The puzzle piece is the most common symbol assosiated with the condition autism spectrum disorder (ASD). On autism awareness day, some neurotypicals use pins with a puzzle piece on it or puzzle piece stickers to spread awareness and show love to their autistic friends and family members, however, most autistic people don't seem to happy about this, as it is often thought that the puzzle piece represents that autistic people are puzzles with missing pieces that need fixing, which is simply not true.
What is the history of the puzzle piece?
The puzzle piece was first used by the national autistic society in 1963, with a crying boy on it. It was used to represent that autism is a complex disability that most people indeed suffer from. In 1999, the autism society of america created the puzzle piece ribbon as a symbol of autism awareness. It was used to represent the complexity of autism and the different colors and shapes were used to represent the diversity of the people and families living with the disability. In 2005, a organization called autism speaks was founded, and they used a blue puzzle piece as their logo. This logo was not welcoming and inclusive. In 2020, autism speaks changed their logo to a more colorful puzzle piece to represent the diversity of perspectives and experiences with autism. This new logo is welcoming and inclusive. To this day, people in the autism community still use the puzzle piece, but most of the autism community seems to have a negative view on it.
Why do people in the autism community use the puzzle piece?
There are many different reasons on why people in the autism community use the puzzle piece. It depends on each person, but there are a few common reasons.
For some autistic people, the puzzle piece represents that every autistic person has different experiences, but we all still fit together as one community.
For some autistic people, the puzzle piece represents finding more pieces to understanding yourself.
Some autistic people use the puzzle piece for safety. Especially higher support needs autistic people. For example: someone will dress a higher support needs autistic person in a top with the puzzle piece on it, to signal to others that they are autistic, which can be extremely important in situations like public meltdowns or elopment. In most countries the puzzle piece is seen as a symbol for autism. Using a common symbol is easier than using a lanyard that says "i am autistic" because there are many people who can not read from far away. For example: poor eye sight or dyslexia.
Some autistic people use the puzzle piece because it simply represents them the best and makes them feel safe.
Some autistic people use the puzzle piece because it is a quick way to identify autism.
Most people who use the puzzle piece use it for these reasons or other reasons that are not harming anyone. It is mostly ragebait accounts who use the puzzle piece to promote a cure for autism, or to hate on autistic people.
Debunking arguments on why the puzzle piece is offensive. (Might get updated a few times).
I have read many articles about why the puzzle piece is offensive, and i have listened to autistic people explaining why it is offensive, but they all either spread misinformation or don't make sense. Here are the reasons i have heard on why the puzzle piece is offensive. When i hear a new reason on why the puzzle piece is offensive, this list will get updated.
The puzzle piece is offensive because it was created by autism speaks.
The puzzle piece is offensive because it is used by a ableist charity called autism speaks.
The puzzle piece is offensive because it originally had a crying boy on it to represent that autism is a tragedy that we suffer from.
The puzzle piece is offensive because it represents that we are puzzles with missing pieces.
The puzzle piece is offensive because it is so assosiated with autism speaks, there is no point in saving it.
The puzzle piece is offensive because it represents that autistic people do not fit in.
The puzzle piece is offensive because the puzzle piece ribbon represents hope of abusive therapies changing who we are.
I will be going over each reason and explain why these reasons are either misinformation or that they don't make sense.
Reason 1: The puzzle piece was not created by autism speaks, which even autism speaks says. (Proof). The puzzle piece was first used and created by the national autistic society in 1963. (Proof).
Reason 2: Just because a symbol is used by a "harmful" charity does not mean the symbol itself is harmful. This argument usually comes from autistic people who use the rainbow infinity symbol, but by their logic the rainbow infinity symbol is offensive aswell as it is used by a ableist human "rights" group called aspies for freedom. Aspies for freedom supports the idea of autism not always being a disability, which is ableist and straight up misinformation. (Proof).
Reason 3: This is almost correct, but this is not a good reason on why the puzzle piece is offensive as there is nothing wrong with it. The thing that is not true about this argument is that the puzzle piece does not represent that autism is a tradegy that people suffer from, it represents that autism is a handicap that people suffer from, which is true. (Proof). When you read this entire article about the true history of the puzzle piece, you'll notice that they never mentioned the word "tragedy", instead, they used the word "handicap". Autism is indeed a handicap, and it is indeed one that people suffer from. The crying boy on the puzzle piece is a reminder that most autistic people suffer from the symptoms from autism (sensory issues, meltdowns, bladder issues, skin issues, motor delays, verbal shutdowns, ect) which is usually forgotten. Some autistic people are at high risk of dying because of autism. For example: they aren't able to eat because of sensory issues. It is fair to call this suffering in most cases.
Reason 4: The puzzle piece does not represent that we are puzzles with missing pieces. This is something autistic people made up due to misunderstandings, and now it is a massive misconception in the autism community. The puzzle piece represents that autism is a complex handicap that most people suffer from, not that we are puzzles with missing pieces. (Proof).
Reason 5: It's true that the puzzle piece is assosiated with autism speaks, but why does that matter? Why does that make the puzzle piece a offensive symbol? Autism speaks is not a ableist organization or a hategroup. (Here).
Reason 6: This is not true at all. The national autistic society said "our children are handicapped by a puzzling condition; this isolates them from normal human contact and therefore they do not 'fit in'. ". When saying this, they did not mean that they think autistic people do not fit in. They meant that autistic people are often seen as strange because of their abnormal human contact, and therefore alot of (ableist) people think that autistic people do not fit in. That is why they put two ' s.
Reason 7: This is not what the puzzle piece ribbon represents, and i seriously don't understand where people get that idea from. The puzzle piece ribbon represents the complexity of autism, and the different colors and shapes were used to represent the diversity of the people and families living with the disability. The brightness of the puzzle piece signals hope of increasing awareness. The puzzle piece ribbon is a autism awareness ribbon. (Proof).
Why don't i just use the rainbow infinity symbol?
There are a few reasons on why i personally do not want to use the rainbow infinity symbol. However, this does not mean that i don't accept those who do use the rainbow infinity symbol. If you prefer the rainbow infinity symbol over the puzzle piece, that's totally fine to me. Here are my reasons on why i personally prefer the puzzle piece over the rainbow infinity symbol.
The rainbow infinity symbol is not very popular. It is popular online, but not in real life.
It will never be as commonly assosiated with autism as the puzzle piece. It is not a quick way to identify autism, especially in real life.
The puzzle piece represents me much better.
The rainbow infinity symbol is not exclusive to autism. It was made for the entire neurodivergent community. When using the rainbow infinity symbol, it is not clear about what condition i am talking about.
These are some of my opinions. This does not mean that i do not support the rainbow infinity symbol, i just don't want to use it.
Why can't we just change the puzzle piece into another symbol?
I personally do not think it is a good idea to change the puzzle piece into another symbol for autism. Here are a few reasons on why i think that.
Changing the symbol would be taking away the way some autistic people represent themselves.
Alot of autistic people struggle with changes. Suddenly using another symbol would be a very hard process for some autistic people.
Instead of changing the symbol, we should remind people of what the puzzle piece really represents, and that it is not a offensive symbol.
I don't think the symbol for autism will change anyway, and i don't think there will be a symbol that is more commonly assosiated with autism than the puzzle piece. Instead of going through this hard process of trying to change the symbol, we should remind people that it is not a offensive symbol.
Why is it harmful to tell strangers to stop using the puzzle piece?
I personally think it is extremely harmful to tell strangers what symbol they should use and what symbol they shouldn't use, especially if you don't know why they use that symbol. Here are some reasons why i think it is harmful.
Some autistic people use the puzzle piece for safety. Taking away a disabled person's safety just because you don't agree with something makes you a bad person.
It is trying to take away the way some autistic people represent themselves. Some autistic people feel safe with the puzzle piece and taking this away is disrespectful.
Most autistic people use the puzzle piece for reasons that are not harming anyone, so it is not necessary to attack people who use the puzzle piece.
Instead of attacking people who use the puzzle piece and telling them it is a offensive symbol, ask them why they use the puzzle piece, and if they are open to hear your opinion about it.
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I would like to share the link of why autism speaks is not a ableist organization one more time, so here it is! (Here).
I wrote this post when i was sick and extremely tired, so i hope that my grammar made sense. I hope this post was helpful for some people!
