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Description
To all my lovelies great and small on the spectrum.

I decided to revamp my previous self-portrait from 2019 during April aka Autism Awareness Month.

Especially now that the puzzle symbol, a symbol which I personally find flawed yet uniquely understandable, is widely frowned upon by a majority of autistic people and their families. I view the puzzle piece as a symbol for connecting with others and growing as a person. Adding more pieces to an already completed picture. It stands as a sign of my love and connections with my friends and family. Puzzle pieces are a shorthand explanation for me describing autism, saying it’s like a box of puzzle pieces that have extra repeating pieces (referring to sensitivity or hyper fixations) and pieces that fit but don’t match its surroundings (social, emotional, and/or educational abilities). There are different types of puzzles like word or number puzzles, logic puzzles, 3D and so many more. This shows the variety that mirrors autism, though autism is a grander spectrum of wonderful individuals. Plus, I like the design and its colors. Simple yet complex.

Through research, I also understand why many people want the puzzle piece gone and I agree. It may have had good intentions in the past, but the negative stigma around autistic people being “broken” or “needing to be cured” alongside Autism Speaks sours those intentions. Not to mention the crying child that the original symbol proudly displayed which is a whole other can of worms that should stay closed. I added the new infinity symbol with its corresponding colors as a way to connect more with the autism community.

Description
To all my lovelies great and small on the spectrum.

I decided to revamp my previous self-portrait from 2019 during April aka Autism Awareness Month.

Especially now that the puzzle symbol, a symbol which I personally find flawed yet uniquely understandable, is widely frowned upon by a majority of autistic people and their families. I view the puzzle piece as a symbol for connecting with others and growing as a person. Adding more pieces to an already completed picture. It stands as a sign of my love and connections with my friends and family. Puzzle pieces are a shorthand explanation for me describing autism, saying it’s like a box of puzzle pieces that have extra repeating pieces (referring to sensitivity or hyper fixations) and pieces that fit but don’t match its surroundings (social, emotional, and/or educational abilities). There are different types of puzzles like word or number puzzles, logic puzzles, 3D and so many more. This shows the variety that mirrors autism, though autism is a grander spectrum of wonderful individuals. Plus, I like the design and its colors. Simple yet complex.

Through research, I also understand why many people want the puzzle piece gone and I agree. It may have had good intentions in the past, but the negative stigma around autistic people being “broken” or “needing to be cured” alongside Autism Speaks sours those intentions. Not to mention the crying child that the original symbol proudly displayed which is a whole other can of worms that should stay closed. I added the new infinity symbol with its corresponding colors as a way to connect more with the autism community.