Symbols of Autism

From ActuallyAutistic Wiki

People use a variety of images to symbolize autism. A person might wear this symbol or have it as a bumper sticker or otherwise displayed to indicate that the user is autistic, is closely related to or has a strong relationship with an autistic person, or otherwise supports the autistic community. These symbols are also frequently found in works related to autism, such as this very wiki

Jigsaw puzzle piece[edit]

Puzzle piece.png

A single piece from a jigsaw puzzle or a few pieces put together. The symbol of Autism Speaks. It is meant to signify the complexity of the autism spectrum.

Many in the Autistic community find this symbol offensive, stating that it implies something is missing in an autistic brain or that autism is a problem to be solved.[1]

Infinity symbols[edit]

Logo.png Gold infinity.png

The rainbow-colored infinity symbol signifies the infinite diversity in the ways Autism presents itself.

The gold infinity symbol signifies autism acceptance. The first two letters of autism are "Au", the chemical symbol for gold.

Many in the Autistic community advocate the use of these symbol over the traditional jigsaw puzzle piece.[2]

Ribbon[edit]

Ribbon.png

In accord with other ribbons symbolizing other conditions, the autism awareness ribbon is an illustration of multiply-colored jigsaw puzzle pieces. As stated before, many in the autistic community find this offensive.

Colors[edit]

Blue.png

Rainbow.png

Autism Speaks has advocated that people wear blue to indicate support of autistic people. However, many autistic people do not want Autism Speaks to represent them. So other colors, including gold, red, taupe, and purple, have been offered as alternatives,[3] in addition to the ubiquitous rainbow.

References[edit]