The Autistic Me

I joined Twitter on the first day of 2011 ( @autisticme ). I also joined a Twibe (seriously?) and registered with WeFollow.com to learn more about what autism-related Twitter feeds might exist. Within a few days, I was already observing a familiar debate. In fact, it the debate I described in the single most-viewed blog entry of The Autistic Me, which dates back to 2008 (see " Logos, Symbols, and Ribbons "). Various "Aspie Advocates" are still protesting the puzzle piece. I'm sure they will be protesting the puzzle piece next year, in five years, and a decade from now. The "neurodiverstiy" (ND) movement doesn't like the puzzle piece. (Everyone's brain is different: neurological diversity is a fact of life.) Honestly, I don't care for the puzzle piece either. I've written and said that I find it personally off-putting. If I am a puzzle, I'm not more or less of a puzzle than most human beings. I'm told, "Oh, no, it is autism ...

Update 20 Jan 2011 : I have written on the origins and evolution of the puzzle piece logo .   Ribbons and wristbands are a fairly poor way to indicate interest in a cause. When there is a dedicated color of ribbon or wristband for every issue or cause, none of the rainbow matters. A chest full of ribbons, aligned in some proto-military fashion, seems ludicrous. So, one more ribbon should matter. But it does. The Autism Awareness campaign uses either a puzzle-piece pattern or a tie-dye pattern with purple dominant. For some reason, these do bother me more than the dozens (hundreds?) of ribbons we are supposed to associate with causes. Autistic individuals are puzzles? They are distorted, psychedelic minds? Exactly what is the message? Not that all people aren't puzzles, but to think one group is any more puzzling is a curious claim. How does this promote understanding? The claim that we are all part of the greater puzzle... no, a puzzle is a mystery. The message...