Hi, my name is Stephanie and today I want to talk to you about why I don't hate or
dislike the puzzle piece as a symbol for autism. So, if you haven't seen me wear
this shirt, I also have another shirt that says love and the "o" is the same
exact symbol. I've had people comment on it before and basically said, "I hate your
shirt; I hate the puzzle piece; and I hate Autism Speaks." And quite a few people on
the autism spectrum are not fans at all of the puzzle piece as a symbol for
autism. Why is this? Well, basically, way back when, when there was an association
that dealt with autism for basically the first time, they used the symbol of a
puzzle piece along with a picture of a crying child, like, inside of it. It was
supposed to be a symbol because the condition was so puzzling to them and
they believed that the children were suffering. Now, a lot of people don't even
know about that particular origin. They're more familiar with the Autism
Speaks logo, which Suzanne Wright helped come up with, apparently, and it's a
little blue a puzzle piece. And a lot of people feel like they don't want to be
represented by that. They say, you know, I'm not puzzling, I've not a puzzle, I'm
not at an enigma, I'm not a puzzle piece, I'm a person. And while I definitely
agree that I'm not a puzzle piece, I'm a person, I'm actually okay with a puzzle
piece being shown as a symbol for autism. No, I'm not going to wear the specific
puzzle piece that's used as a logo for Autism Speaks because I don't agree with
Autism Speaks. And again, as many people have said before, Autism Speaks doesn't
speak for me. But in the same vein, the past of the puzzle piece also doesn't
speak for me. I think that the puzzle piece, in my view, can represent us as an
intricate and necessary part of the puzzle. That we are a piece that's been
missing from the conversation, from inclusion, from community, and we are important
as a piece of the puzzle overall in life, overall in just, the world, the community
space, whatever and the picture isn't complete without us. So, for me, I'm okay
with that being a puzzle piece because, yeah, sometimes I can be confusing.
Puzzles, to me, also signify people who are creative and interesting and
different and ... those type of people, in my head, at least, seem to like to do
puzzles. I'm not always even a fan of puzzles, personally, but I know that a lot
of very creative, out-of-the-box thinkers are able to, you know, do those dynamic
puzzles and stuff like that. So, to me, again, that's, like, a positive connotation
in my opinion. And the thing with puzzle pieces is that they are supposed to come
together to form that bigger picture. So, for us to be, maybe, symbolized or autism
to be symbolized as a puzzle piece is kind of like maybe all the answers
aren't found now, but we belong in the picture. And we are, maybe, people who
might take a little more to figure out. Maybe people who tend to be a little
harder to get to know, maybe people who need more understanding than the average
person, but that puzzle piece does eventually fit. You do eventually get to
see the picture. So, I just feel like, for me, I actually like the puzzle piece
because it, to me, signifies that we are a part of the greater community. We are an
important piece of even history, and autism itself is such an important part
of how we, you know, as people, as human beings, as a human race, has gotten to
where we are because we are people who think differently. We see the world
differently and that's okay, but without us, without that piece, the picture isn't
complete. The puzzle isn't done. And so, again, for me, I'm okay with that.
I'm okay feeling like I'm an integral piece, an important piece of the world or
the community. That I have something to contribute
and maybe you might see me as confusing and you might see me as hard to figure
out at first, but if you try a little bit, you'll see that I do fit in your
community. That I am an integral and important piece of this world and of the
the conversation and without me, without people on the spectrum, without autism,
that all of that is incomplete. There's so much you're not seeing. There's so
much you're not experiencing. There's so much you're not understanding. So much
you're not appreciating without us and without autism. Normally, on this channel
I have tried to share more in-depth types of things, articles, and information
and learning type of things and personal experiences that might be helpful to you.
This one is mostly just an opinion, partially because ... it's just an off
script moment. I've been sick for a few days now. I was gonna talk about
something else, but I just, I just can't right now. There's some things going on
in my personal life that are rough emotionally, so instead of that, I give
you my apparently somewhat controversial opinion on the puzzle piece with autism.
And I am interested in your guys's thoughts on this. How you feel about the
puzzle piece, if you feel like it's just like irreparable, that it has to be
Autism Speaks or it has to be a bad connotation or if you choose to let it
have its own connotation for you because that's really how I like to see things
for the most part. I know some people are kind of like purists, I guess, and they
they know an origin of something and they just, that's the thing for them
forever, for always. But for me, there's so many people who don't even know the
origin of the puzzle piece, they just know, oh, that's for autism. And so I
choose to give it my own meaning and kind of what I felt of it before I knew
about the background and how I feel about it still. Like, I'm not gonna let
Autism Speaks ruin that entire symbol for me. I'm not gonna let its original
origins of a sad child ruin it for me because
I'm not a sad child. I'm not suffering from autism and maybe a way of regaining
control of the narrative or whatever around autism and the symbols that
people use. I know that some people prefer the ribbon with, like, the
different colors and stuff like that. I personally don't care. It's not a big
deal to me. I don't know why I like the puzzle piece more than that, honestly, but
that's just a personal preference and there's been, like, a lot of attempts to,
like, change that, but I feel like if we just let it be something positive for us
that it can be a positive thing. But I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on
it, how you feel about it before and after
this video, how you felt about it before, if I've changed your mind at all or
your viewpoint at all or if you're still thinking the way you're thinking,
that's great. But I guess, just a PSA, when I wear puzzle pieces, ... I am NOT in
support of Autism Speaks, okay? Just to get that out there. I feel like my series
on Autism Speaks might have given that away, but for the few who have not really
watched much of my channel, ... there you go. Anyway, thank you all for watching. I
hope that you enjoyed. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and if
you like this video, go ahead and leave it a like and if you like to hear autism
related things from me, go ahead and hit that subscribe button. I try to
upload it every Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Central Standard for you guys. I'm really
overwhelmed right now, so I don't know if it's actually gonna make it there at
that time or not. Yeah. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being awesome
and I hope you have a wonderful week. See me in my next video. Bye.