I did a bit of research because before I was speaking from my gut.
Turns out the puzzle piece was first used in 1963 by the National Autistic Society in the UK. They had a crying child inside a puzzle piece. They no longer use that logo.
“the puzzle piece is so effective because it tells us something about autism: our children are handicapped by a puzzling condition; this isolates them from normal human contact and therefore they do not ‘fit in’. The suggestion of a weeping child is a reminder that autistic people do indeed suffer from their handicap.” — Helen Allison
The article The Problem with the Autism Puzzle Piece gives a good overview of current interpretations of the puzzle piece. Naturally, YMMV, all autistic folk are entitled to their own interpretation, etc.
It’s in line with the puzzle piece motif the creator also chose.
Autists tend to view the puzzle piece logo as infantalizing, insulting.
Yep. The suggestion one is incomplete because one is autistic is just fucked up. Autists are complete humans.
(I was trying to agree with your post, but rereading I see I didn’t make the connection explicit, which is ironic in a thread about autism.)
Yikes! Is that really the meaning behind it? I naïvely would have assumed that it was referring to autistic people enjoying puzzles…
I did a bit of research because before I was speaking from my gut.
Turns out the puzzle piece was first used in 1963 by the National Autistic Society in the UK. They had a crying child inside a puzzle piece. They no longer use that logo.
The article The Problem with the Autism Puzzle Piece gives a good overview of current interpretations of the puzzle piece. Naturally, YMMV, all autistic folk are entitled to their own interpretation, etc.
Ah!
I was too angry upon seeing it to get that you could be, or were, making that point sardonically, or also in derision.
All good, lol =D