I recently posted about my, you could say, less than satisfied opinion about Autism Speaks's approach to all things autism.
As I was doing my nails this weekend I looked carefully at the color that I chose to do them.
It has been my go to color for as long as I can remember.
It is the color that I and pretty much everyone associates with autism these days.
The funny thing is, that it wasn't the first set of colors that I saw when autism came into my life...it was one of a group of colors that made up a puzzle.
These colors were red, yellow, and blue - they illustrated the different pieces that is the puzzle of autism - that everyone with autism is not the same. Each piece is different in shape and color but yet some how connect together.
Some pieces share the same color but not shape or same shape but not color. Some pieces are the same.
This is the diversity that is autism...there are differences, similarities...but it is still a puzzle that needs to be worked on and put together with care and love and dedication.
The color is blue...according to WikiAnswers (the only way I could get an answer) the reason behind this is because autism affects mainly boys and blue is the most common color that boys prefer. Okay, I get this.
But then why is it that the main shade of blue that is focused on is the color of Autism Speaks?
The color of an organization that clearly does not speak for our children, adults, and families living with autism.
Who chose that shade of blue to be the color of autism when there is a spectrum of colors that clearly identify the spectrum of those living with it?
Why do I care?
Maybe it sounds stupid or trivial but the fact that a particular color identifies our families and connects them with a group of people that do not truly speak for our population bothers me.
This doesn't mean that I will stop wearing light blue because well, unfortunately it is the color accepted by many autism organizations - especially two of the ones I am passionate about - Train 4 Autism and Surfers for Autism. It is also one of Princess's favorite colors.
I just wanted to illustrate how ironic it is that not only are our lives "spoken" for by this organization, but even our attempts to differentiate ourselves from said organization is still connected to them by this one simple thing...a shade of a color.
Words of a woman...navigating parenthood, autism, love, and the world in general
Blue is also the color of the sky, and ocean… And both of those sparkle and are limitless.
ReplyDeleteYour glass is half full (even more than half full)! Take the color and run with it, make it beautiful and make it yours!
That is so interesting and symbolic. I always associate the colors with the multi-colored puzzle pieces, which I always thought was the perfect symbol. Of course I don't know this directly, but this post is eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteI'm familiar with the puzzle logo for autism awareness, but I actually didn't realize that light blue was the color. I'm with Princess on this one. It's also one of my favorite colors!
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