Puzzle Piece

[Image description: A brick wall with a white poster that has a jigsaw puzzle piece crossed out and text that reads "I am not a puzzle. I am a person."]

Thumbnail image retrieved from here

The puzzle piece is a symbol associated with autism. This is done even though many autistic people see the puzzle piece as offensive. There are many reasons why. One of those reasons is because of history of the symbol itself. Another is its association with controversial organizations like Autism Speaks. It was first used in the context of autism in 1963 by the National Society for Autistic Children (Now known as the National Autistic Society). Learn more about the history of the puzzle piece here. There are plenty of autistic people who are in favor of the puzzle piece. Yet, plenty of autistic people do not like it. This has changed what several companies and organizations use to symbolize autism.

Early opposition to the puzzle piece

There are some people who think the opposition to the puzzle piece is new. That is false. Autistic people have denounced the puzzle piece symbol since at least the 1990s.

A multi--colored ribbon with jigsaw puzzle pieces in it labeled "Autism Awareness". The ribbon is turned on its side and there is the caption "I am not a puzzle! I don't want to be cured!"
A button that is half black on the right and half white on the left. The left half has a ribbon with red, blue, and yellow puzzle pieces and the black text that says "here, we're silenced". The right half has a raised fist that is rainbow colored with white text that reads"Parents don't speak for me!" and text at the bottom that reads "Autistic Liberation Front". The letters in Autistic Liberation Front that are on the left half are black while the letters that appear on the right are colored white.
A button that has a white background, a black jigsaw puzzle piece that is vaguely shaped like a human stick figure that is crossed out with a red no symbol, and the saying "I am not a puzzle, I am a person" plastered around the crossed out puzzle piece in black text

Laura Tisoncik designed two of the graphics seen here around 1999. The one on the far left was a postcard found on an old website, the exact origin not known to the site creator at the moment. Autism Society of America created the puzzle ribbon in 1999. They were already known for being hostile towards many autistic people by then. There were a few autistic people who were on the board of the ASA. They voted in favor of the puzzle ribbon. But, for the most part, the puzzle ribbon was not designed by autistic people.

"I am not a puzzle. I am a person."

A brick wall with a white poster that has a jigsaw puzzle piece crossed out and text that reads "I am not a puzzle. I am a person."
A white pin with a crossed out blue puzzle piece with text that reads "people not puzzles"
M.Remi Yergeau, a white person with shoulder-length blond hair, holding a sign that has a puzzle piece image with a red slash through it and the wording, “People not puzzles.”
Several people standing in a line holding signs that read "Disability Rights", "I can speak 4 myself", "First class autistic second class citizen", "I can speak for myself", and "people not puzzles"

Opposition to the puzzle piece often follows with the saying "I am not a puzzle. I am a person" or "people not puzzles". The earliest instance of this can be traced back to the work of Autistics.org from the late 90s. The particular puzzle piece often used in these graphics is symmetrical. That is done on purpose. The original design pictured in the top left corner, that was made in the computer game Second Life, is a puzzle piece that is shaped like a human. This is done to represent the humanity of autistic people that many who use the puzzle piece as a symbol miss.

Further reading