As an autistic pansexual demigirl, seeing this on my favourite pride blog makes my heart sing. I’m so happy to see that there is being awareness for people like me being put up on blogs for our wonderful community of people of all walks of life. I’m so happy to see that you are using the infinity sign as that is the non-ablest symbol of autism (although don’t go after autistic people who still use the puzzle piece, as it is their choice whether to use it or not. Most of us just usually prefer the infinity symbol to the puzzle piece). One thing I would say is that unfortunately, the colour blue has strong links to Autism Speaks which is a hate group against autism. So when talking about autism, most of us prefer the colour red as apposed to the colour blue, other then that, this is a really good post!!!!
— Ciara/Ciaran/Clover (she/they)
infinity symbol is the correct one ! just as everyone has said. also I recommend saying “autism awareness” and instead go for “acceptance” just because people know we exist doesn’t do much, we need acceptance not awareness
— Deckard Eugene Tate
I appreciate that Pride Palace wants to support the autistic community, however I ask you use the infinity symbol over the puzzle piece. The puzzle piece is a symbol heavily associated with autism speaks, which despite how they advertise themselves, is a hate group. In addition the puzzle piece implies that autistic people are a puzzle that’s missing a piece. Like we need to be fixed. As a member of the autistic community who was not diagnosed until later in life, I can personally vouch on how harmful it is. I was taught my whole life that autism was a bad thing, a disease. When my psychiatrist told me to be tested I thought I was broken because all I ever knew was what I had heard from Autism Speaks and what I was told regarding the puzzle piece. It took over a year and the help of several friends to realize that there was nothing wrong with being autistic. The puzzle piece is ableist and a bit condescending. We are different, not less. Please use the infinity symbol instead
— Hope
Please use the infinity symbol not the ableist puzzle piece. I’m personally leaving this comment to amplify the voices of many autistic people I have been learning from but I want to point out that we should all make efforts to stay educated and to listen to the autistic community!
— Rachhh
use infinity symbol instead! – ur local autistic lesbian <3
— chase
I would like to just say that the Autism Community doesnt actually accept the puzzle piece as a way to represent ourselves.
We use an infinity symbol most of the time, as we are not a puzzle to be solved but a group of people with infinite ways of existing.
— Ari
As one who is proud of being asexual and having high functioning autism, I’m overjoyed to see that the LGBTQ+ community is learning about this highly misunderstood developmental disorder. What makes autism so misunderstood is that much of time when one thinks about autism, they tend to think several different things; it’s exclusively experienced by boys, it’s only portrayed as experiencing severe symptoms, it’s symptoms are external, and it prevents these people from succeeding in life. The truth is that these statements are far from the truth. Autism can affect anyone, including girls, transgender individuals, nonbinary individuals, ANYONE. Symptoms of autism are not just external, they are also internal, especially with girls, which leads girls to be underdiagnosed. Autism DOES NOT always stands in the way from one succeeding in life. At age 4, I would not communicate with peers similar to my age, I would throw multiple tamper tantrums, and experience very self destructive behaviors. Flash forward to 21 years old, I have graduated high school, currently attending Mercyhurst University making the Dean’s List, worked 3 different jobs (going on 4), and attending every campus event on weekends WITH friends I’ve made ON MY OWN, and being an inspiration for my family, friends, my family’s friends, along with many others. Finally, AUTISM IS A SPECTRUM DISORDER. Not everyone is going to experience autism the same way. High functioning people such as myself may experience minimal social difficulties or abnormalities while doing exceptionally good in school. Low functioning people like one guy I know will experience rather high social difficulties and abnormalities and may not even function in a school setting. So even one who is achieving things like a neurotypical person would can have some internal struggles. One last thing I want to cover is resilience (overcoming autism). I understand that everyone’s experience is going to be different, but I’ll share my own. As I have mentioned, I have dealt with countless difficulties and hardships in life as a young girl due to my autism. If I haven’t received the YEARS worth of treatment from all of my TSS (therapeutic support staff) along with the never-dying support from my family, I would most likely continue to experience the same symptoms as I did 17 years ago. The stories I’ve read about how people overcome autism are truly inspiring, and I hope this one is one of many that will inspire you to learn more about autism spectrum disorder. Thank you.
Comments
As an autistic pansexual demigirl, seeing this on my favourite pride blog makes my heart sing. I’m so happy to see that there is being awareness for people like me being put up on blogs for our wonderful community of people of all walks of life. I’m so happy to see that you are using the infinity sign as that is the non-ablest symbol of autism (although don’t go after autistic people who still use the puzzle piece, as it is their choice whether to use it or not. Most of us just usually prefer the infinity symbol to the puzzle piece). One thing I would say is that unfortunately, the colour blue has strong links to Autism Speaks which is a hate group against autism. So when talking about autism, most of us prefer the colour red as apposed to the colour blue, other then that, this is a really good post!!!!
infinity symbol is the correct one ! just as everyone has said. also I recommend saying “autism awareness” and instead go for “acceptance” just because people know we exist doesn’t do much, we need acceptance not awareness
I appreciate that Pride Palace wants to support the autistic community, however I ask you use the infinity symbol over the puzzle piece. The puzzle piece is a symbol heavily associated with autism speaks, which despite how they advertise themselves, is a hate group. In addition the puzzle piece implies that autistic people are a puzzle that’s missing a piece. Like we need to be fixed. As a member of the autistic community who was not diagnosed until later in life, I can personally vouch on how harmful it is. I was taught my whole life that autism was a bad thing, a disease. When my psychiatrist told me to be tested I thought I was broken because all I ever knew was what I had heard from Autism Speaks and what I was told regarding the puzzle piece. It took over a year and the help of several friends to realize that there was nothing wrong with being autistic. The puzzle piece is ableist and a bit condescending. We are different, not less. Please use the infinity symbol instead
Please use the infinity symbol not the ableist puzzle piece. I’m personally leaving this comment to amplify the voices of many autistic people I have been learning from but I want to point out that we should all make efforts to stay educated and to listen to the autistic community!
use infinity symbol instead! – ur local autistic lesbian <3
I would like to just say that the Autism Community doesnt actually accept the puzzle piece as a way to represent ourselves.
We use an infinity symbol most of the time, as we are not a puzzle to be solved but a group of people with infinite ways of existing.
As one who is proud of being asexual and having high functioning autism, I’m overjoyed to see that the LGBTQ+ community is learning about this highly misunderstood developmental disorder. What makes autism so misunderstood is that much of time when one thinks about autism, they tend to think several different things; it’s exclusively experienced by boys, it’s only portrayed as experiencing severe symptoms, it’s symptoms are external, and it prevents these people from succeeding in life. The truth is that these statements are far from the truth. Autism can affect anyone, including girls, transgender individuals, nonbinary individuals, ANYONE. Symptoms of autism are not just external, they are also internal, especially with girls, which leads girls to be underdiagnosed. Autism DOES NOT always stands in the way from one succeeding in life. At age 4, I would not communicate with peers similar to my age, I would throw multiple tamper tantrums, and experience very self destructive behaviors. Flash forward to 21 years old, I have graduated high school, currently attending Mercyhurst University making the Dean’s List, worked 3 different jobs (going on 4), and attending every campus event on weekends WITH friends I’ve made ON MY OWN, and being an inspiration for my family, friends, my family’s friends, along with many others. Finally, AUTISM IS A SPECTRUM DISORDER. Not everyone is going to experience autism the same way. High functioning people such as myself may experience minimal social difficulties or abnormalities while doing exceptionally good in school. Low functioning people like one guy I know will experience rather high social difficulties and abnormalities and may not even function in a school setting. So even one who is achieving things like a neurotypical person would can have some internal struggles. One last thing I want to cover is resilience (overcoming autism). I understand that everyone’s experience is going to be different, but I’ll share my own. As I have mentioned, I have dealt with countless difficulties and hardships in life as a young girl due to my autism. If I haven’t received the YEARS worth of treatment from all of my TSS (therapeutic support staff) along with the never-dying support from my family, I would most likely continue to experience the same symptoms as I did 17 years ago. The stories I’ve read about how people overcome autism are truly inspiring, and I hope this one is one of many that will inspire you to learn more about autism spectrum disorder. Thank you.