I was recently asked what the meaning behind the necklace that I made is.
The necklace in question is this: (And they are for sale - $8 plus S&H )
Historically, the puzzle piece was the logo embraced in 1963 by the British organization now referred to as the National Autistic Society. The original logo included an image of a weeping child in the center.
The group described this logo as: “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.”
Some may find this description very offensive – but contextually I think it is very understandable. At this point when this logo was derived, autism was still not a diagnosis – many of those who had autism were diagnosed as schizophrenic and even more interesting, a very popular theory of “refrigerator mothers” was the prevalent thinking of causation. (Like those poor mothers didn't have enough to worry about! To be blamed on top of it! Ugh) But I digress...
For many of us parents, I think the symbol makes sense – from our perspectives this disorder certainly is complex and varied, with a lot more mystery than clarity. Again – this is from the parent perspective. The variance amongst the population with diagnosis is represented by the colors within the puzzle piece. Autism crosses nearly every demographic equally – race, color, creed, country, socio, economic … all but one: gender. Autism prevalence is 4x higher in boys than in girls. (NOTE: the two colors of blue used are traditionally male associated.) But the spectrum is just that, unpredictable and varied, at times beautiful with a side of rain – and the colors could represent that as well – autism may make one quirky and skillful or it could make someone speechless and seriously aggravated and every combination in between.
One day, I hope future generations will look back and laugh – at the fact that we found autism complicated and unknowable, and difficult. We have a lot of work to get there. For now, I can only ask for your understanding and your awareness. I appreciate anyone who is willing to symbolically show that. When a parent sees this symbol, as they do a knowing smile of support when a child has troubling behavior, it makes them feel less alone. And that means the person they are supporting with autism gets the benefit of a parent who feels encouraged. And I personally know how important encouragement is when sometimes I feel not up for the challenges autism makes me face. So thank you for asking and for willing to wear my simple necklace!
