#the infinity symbol is the symbol for asd

[kristiliqua]

my fav song in msr is trying not to think about it bc its bittersweet feeling and resonates with me the most (by a long shot) .

is that worrying orrr . like what does that say about me . erm

[muzsmocsing]

I went to my autism evaluation freaked out that I'm just a poser there for attention when 20 minutes earlier I fully had to take my headphones off because I couldn't smell the cherry blossoms over the music

[lesbian-honey-lemon]

this autism acceptance month I would like for everyone making posts/art to STOP using the rainbow infinity symbol to represent ONLY autism. The rainbow symbol is for ALL NEURODIVERGENTS. This includes disorders completely separate from autism such as Down Sydrome, ASPD, NPD, schizophrenia, Angelman Syndrome, and many other disabilities. It is not a symbol for autism in specific. The Autism Colors are red and gold (red for Red Instead, gold for AU)

Please use red and gold infinity symbols for when you talk about autism specifically, and save the rainbow symbol for when you talk about neurodiversity in general.

[neurospicyyy]

Neurodivergent infinity symbol gif by @neurospicyyy - free to use! - no need to credit! (But it would be appreciated) - anyone can use it [source | where i made the gif]

[nonspeakers-r-us]

It's OK to have different opinions about your Autism than the mainstream ASD community

It's OK to feel like you were benefited from your experience in ABA. It's OK to prefer the term "nonverbal" over "nonspeaking" for yourself. It's OK to prefer puzzle pieces. I know I do. It's OK to prefer "person with Autism" instead of "Autistic person". It's OK to be different. Now, what isn't ok is forcing others to conform to your preferences. If you feel the infinity symbol for Autism is better than puzzle pieces, you shouldn't be unkind to Autistic people who prefer the puzzle piece. And vice versa. This only applies to other members of the Autism community. People who don't have Autism should listen to those on the Spectrum, not what they as Allistic people personally believe is right.

Stop the fighting. Stop generalizing "all Autistic people do/prefer/like [insert thing here]". It's a Spectrum. And that's OK.

[zoobiefish]

So, I nearly missed out on Auctober again, whoops! I am now 9 days behind, woohoo 😂😅 I’m an Autistic university student, so I may not always have the spoons to commit to this daily challenge, or at the very least I may not be able to draw something for each prompt…I may have to just write a little blurb about what that day’s prompt means to me lol But ideally I would like to contribute as many pieces of art to this challenge as I can! For now though, to catch up on all I’ve missed, I’m going to make individual short blurbs for the prompts I’ve missed thus far:

Day 1: Autism Plus

For myself, in addition to being Autistic, I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD, OCD, EDNOS, and generalized anxiety. I also suspect I may have hEDS (hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome). Fun stuff!

Day 2: Infinite

The most popular symbol for Autism Spectrum Disorder to my knowledge is a golden infinity ♾ symbol (sometimes I see a rainbow-coloured one in use as well, though my understanding is that the rainbow infinity symbol is used for neurodiversity as a whole). For a long time, the infamous puzzle piece 🧩 symbol was used to represent ASD—but most Autistics HATE this symbol!! I recognize that I don’t speak for all Autistic people, but this is the common opinion on the puzzle piece symbol and the one I share as well: The puzzle piece symbol is problematic because it suggests that Autistic people are inherently “missing a piece” or that we are “a puzzle to be solved.” Plus, this symbol is used by the evil corporation Autism Speaks. I would prefer not to go on a rant right now about why they’re evil; if anyone is curious, I would recommend doing research on why Autistic people HATE Autism Speaks. But the short version is that they support eugenicist policies around Autism and seek to eradicate us from existence. They treat us as non-humans under the guise of doing “charity work”—they are absolutely NOT a charity. Do NOT support Autism Speaks under any circumstances—any supporter of Autism Speaks (or as most of us spell it, “Autism $peaks”), is NO friend of mine!

Day 3: AuDHD

This is a fun little term I’ve seen in the Autism and ADHD communities! It’s a portmanteau of “Autism” and “ADHD” in case it wasn’t obvious heh! I myself do have AuDHD; it’s a very common comorbidity! It’s certainly…an interesting experience because the two often conflict with each other, as if I have 2 wolves fighting within my brain 🤪

Day 4: Music

Music is one of my favourite coping mechanisms. If I’m understimulated or need inspiration (especially for art or writing), I’ll put on some fun, energetic music to get the juices flowing and will dance and/or pace around the room to get the energy out of my system! If I’m overstimulated, relaxing videogame soundtracks are often my go-to—especially music from The Legend of Zelda, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing etc. Another aspect of my being on the spectrum is that my thoughts are very vivid and visual. Often times when I hear music, I can’t help but see colours, shapes, images, and even stories with characters and whatnot going along to the music. It gives me great ideas for animatics and artwork! I love this fun little bonus feature in my brain haha 😛

Day 5: Verbose

This one is rather interesting for me. I find when I feel safe around a person or I have just TOO much energy to control myself, I WILL talk—and talk—and talk—etc. I feel so bad for those who fall victim to my “infodump sessions”—but just know that if I do that to you, it’s my way of showing affection. If I talk and never seem to shut up around you…I probably really like you (platonically) 😁 Other times however, I am dead silent. This is usually around people I’m uncertain of, don’t know well enough, or I may just be burntout/too tired to talk 😅

Day 6: Individuals

As the saying goes: If you’ve met ONE (1) Autistic person, then you’ve met ONE (1) Autistic person! We are NOT a hivemind, people!! Just because I’m not like your “friend’s cousin’s aunt’s 3-year-old stepson” doesn’t mean I’m “not Autistic.” The stereotype with Autism is a white cishet dude—but we are just as diverse a population as any other demographic. We all have our differences and similarities, but we are unified in our shared diagnosis—and that’s it!

Day 7: Neuroscope

Ah yes, the “superpower” Autistic people seem to have in which we can all “sense each other” 😂😂😂 I find this to be scarily accurate actually—the majority of the people I’ve become friends with at uni turned out to be Autistic, and long before they mentioned they were on the spectrum I was able to tell. The funniest part though is that they all the said same thing about me! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Day 8: Non-Speaking

So of course Autism is a spectrum, and among the ways in which Autistic people can differ from one another is whether we possess the ability to verbally speak or not. I do not want to talk in length about what being “non-speaking” means as I am not non-speaking myself and don’t wish to talk over those who are. What I do know though is that some of us are unable to verbally speak and may use alternative methods to communicate (whether through the use of sign language, AAC devices, or other means), which are equally valid methods of communication that deserve to be respected. Once again, I must iterate that I am fully capable of verbal speech and I am in no way non-speaking myself. That being said, sometimes I do have a reduced capacity to speak or feel it takes far more physical effort to speak when I am tired, stressed, overwhelmed, in sensory overload, or in the midst of a shutdown. This does NOT mean I am non-speaking—that label is exclusively for Autistic individuals who cannot verbally speak at all. I’m not sure what the proper terminology is for my specific situation (if anyone knows of it, I’d appreciate if you let me know in the comments!) but because of these situations, I am currently trying to learn ASL so I can still communicate in some way during these episodes.

And that’s it for now! I am hoping to have a drawing done by the end of today for Day 9, but we shall see! In the meantime, check out @autiebiographical on Tumblr! They are the one who started Auctober in the first place to my knowledge and they create amazing comics and other content that educates people on Autism Spectrum Disorder! Happy Auctober y’all!

[genderdenied]

☆ㅤfrilly ASD alt

pt: frilly ASD alt :end pt

!!ㅤ;ㅤfor : anon

﹒ ㅤdefinition :

similarly to the HPD alt posted yesterday, this is a cute frilly pink alternative flag for anybeing with ASD, because pink frills ^_^

﹒ ㅤmight make more of these alts, because everybeing deserves a cute frilly flag if they want a cute frilly flag !!

; userboxes by ghosting-plural-userboxes

; copy-pastable IDs and pt below !!

header id: A lace header, it curves downwards and is coloured with pastel pink. It has multiple outlines going dark pink, white, baby pink, dark pink. In the center is the words " frilly ASD alt " coloured white and outlined similarly :end id

divider id: A simplistic orange divider. It has an orange crescent moon on each side and is all outlined in brown, white, orange and brown again. In the center is the word " genderdenied " outlined similarly :end id

flag id: A decorated rectangular flag, it has 5 variously sized strips with different colours and patterns respectively. Going in top-to-bottom order they are: large baby pink with frilly border, medium pastel pink, small pink tinted white, medium pastel pink, large baby pink with frilly border. At the top and bottom of the flag is a strip of frilly darker pink coloured semi circles with hearts and dots decorating them. In the very center of the flag is the ASD infinity symbol coloured white with a pink tint and pink outline :end id

footer id: A lace footer, it curves upwards and is coloured pastel pink. It has multiple outlines going dark pink, white, baby pink, dark pink. :end id

userbox 1 id: A red fox themed userbox. The picture is of a red fox sleeping peacefully, tongue sticking out slightly. The text reading " This being appreciates reblogs and comments " :end id

userbox 2 id: A red fox themed userbox. The picture is of a red fox having it's head held. The text reading " DNI: Radqueer, TransID, Syscourse and NSFW " :end id

pt: for anon. Definition, similarly to the HPD alt posted yesterday, this is a cute frilly pink alternative flag for anybeing with ASD, because pink frills ^_^[joyful face]. Might make more of these alts, because everybeing deserves a cute frilly flag if they want a cute frilly flag :end pt

; tagging : @radiomogai @liom-archive

[ametistapp]

Since it's Autism Awareness Month, here's

Why the puzzle piece is offensive to the Autistic Community

[Large text: Why the puzzle piece is offensive to the Autistic Community]

Unfortunately, the most commonly used symbols to represent autism are all puzzle related, like the ones bellow.

These symbols and similar ones are typically used by Autism Organizations that are run by allistic people rather than autistic, Autism Speaks being the best-known example across the internet, but not the only one.

I'm not going to go deep into how bad Autism Speaks is, but just to leave you with the tip of the iceberg, know they used to put out ads that demonized autistic people (and even one in which one of the organization's leaders spoke about wanting to drive herself and her autistic daughter off a bridge).

Autism Speaks, and many others, attempt to "teach" people about autism, without hearing what actually autistic people have to say, and that's their biggest (but not at all only) problem.

Now, stay with me as we dive into history...

The puzzle piece was first used as a symbol for autism in 1963, by UK's National Autism Society, later on being adopted by Autism Speaks, which made it more popular.

Back then, autism awareness campaigns were viewed as being similar to, for example, cancer awareness ones, because autism was seen as an illness, a disease (which it is not).

As I've made clear before, the puzzle piece is heavily associated with organizations that spread misinformation about autism, making it, of course, already a bad symbol to represent us, but there's something I personally feel bothers us a lot more, and that is the symbolism of the puzzle piece.

The puzzle piece represents an idea of "mystery" and — you guessed it — being "puzzled".

And us, autists, don't really appreciate being called confusing.

Not only that, these words were often used to describe autism offensively in the past (and still are). And, on top of that, most times, when you find a puzzle supposed to represent autism, it is incomplete.

Isn't the message clear enough?

We're people, not puzzles that have to be worked out. We're not incomplete and we're not "puzzled".

So

Which symbols can you use for autism awareness?

[Large text: Which symbols can you use for autism awareness?]

The infinity rainbow symbol is common for all neurodivergent people, while the golden infinity is specific for ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder, in case you didn't know the acronym).

The infinity symbol represents the complexity and vastness of neurodivergence and autism.

Autism is less about "severity" and more about different struggles in different topics and areas (though not a lot of people seem to understand that, unfortunately). After all, autism is a spectrum, not a scale.

And if you're interested in why golden is the color of choice for us, that'd be because the periodic symbol for gold is Au, which I think is very clever, haha.

Some people also like to use red or plain yellow, I don't know a lot about that, but I'd recommend you research it.

And since we're on the topic of color, just a warning: in the Autistic Community we kind of avoid using blue to represent us, especially because it is heavily associated with Autism Speaks' "Light It Up Blue" movement.

Blue is seen as a representation of feelings like sadness, as well as being commonly associated with boys (this is important because women and other AFAB are often misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed because many people still think autism is only found in boys, and because many traits are viewed as "normal behavior" in AFAB people).

This isn't to say you can't use blue in the title of your PowerPoint presentation about ASD, it's just a thing we try to avoid.

Well, that should be all.

I decided to make this post because I've seen many people post about which symbols to use for Autism Awareness Month, but no one explaining why.

Thought this could help some poor lost soul understand it, lol

Happy Autism Awareness Month, my beloved Yippies, and a thank you to everyone who stopped to read <3 (heart).

Now I'm gonna go clean my search history and my gallery, just reading "Autism Speaks" gives me the ick.

[whalien-flags]

ADHD + OCD + ASD/Autistic Combo Flag

Also I forgot to post this here! It is a common combo to have and I couldn't find a flag for it for some reason! (could just have eluded me)

Colors are based off of the 3 different existing flags + the general neurodivergent symbol on top. Also, I know ASD and Autistic are not necessarily completely interchangeable but for this flag it is definitely either/or, you don't need to be professionally diagnosed to use the flag!

[Image Descriptions:

Flag on the left has 5 stripes with the color order from top to bottom being red, orange, gold, teal, and dark teal. There is an infinity symbol on the flag that has a path of different colors of the rainbow blurred into each other but is not overly bright or intense in coloring. There is a thin white outline around the infinity symbol. Flag on the right is version with no infinity symbol on it.

End of descriptions.]

[disabled-sysboxes]

[TEXT ID: this system has ASD and NVLD]

[IMG ID: A medium yellow, rectangular box with the autism flag on the left - a flag with 5 stripes, a red, orange, yellow, light green, and green and a white infinity symbol in the middle - with text that reads 'this system has ASD and NVLD' on the right.]

–

Like & Reblog if you use!

(Reblogs can be private)

[willowshine61]

As a sufferer of OCD, I am very passionate about OCD awareness and understanding. I think there should be a symbol that represents OCD, like there is for ADHD and ASD. However, when I look up "Mental disorder symbols," the one for OCD is an image of a checklist inside someone's head. Personally, I feel like that isn't an accurate representation for ALL subtypes, and the teal ribbon for OCD awareness also has other meanings. So, I've decided to design my own symbol; one that I think truly represents all subtypes of OCD.

-The teal color is a nod to the teal ribbon

-The shield split in half represents how OCD can make us FEEL like our compulsions are protecting us or others, but they are actually hurting us.

- The chain looping around the halves of the shield in the shape of an infinity symbol represents the feeling of being trapped in a never-ending cycle of obsessions and compulsions.

Please, please, PLEASE let me know what you think of it and/or if you have any ideas to add to it or change about it. I welcome anyone with OCD who likes designing to design an OCD symbol, too. I just want there to be a symbol for OCD made and approved by the OCD community.

[wafflenati0n]

Hey! Incase you didn't know, here are some symbols that represent mental health!

TW: mentions of EDs, suicide, and mental health.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🧡 - A orange ribbon, it's used to represent people with ADHD, the color orange is also used to represent ADHD awareness month

The inifity symbol, it's used to represent people with autism spectrum disorder or ASD. Many people still use the puzzle piece but the infinity symbol has since replaced it. It also is used for self harm awarness

🦋 A butterfly is often used for people who struggle with self harm, it's also used for people battling depression. The butterfly symbolizes new Beginnings and hopefulness.

; The semicolon is used to spread awareness of suicide, especially if it's a tatoo. It can also be used for someone who has lost someone to suicide. It's also used for people to have a form of untiy ik their own mental health battles.

🎗 The yellow ribbon is used to spread awareness of suicide prevention.

💚 The green ribbon is used to symbolize all mental health and mental illnesses.

Periwinkle Ribbon is used to represent and spread awareness of eating disorders or ED

These are just all the ones I know, if you know more feel free to tell me and I'll gladly add them! It's important to spread awareness of these symbols, remeber, no matter what part of your mental health journey your own, we all live and support you.

[kitspeech]

Disability and Neurodivergency symbols: Autism

[ ID: Emoji of a person with a red infinity symbol over them. /End ID ]

emoji/acc symbol for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), for autism awareness month.

[salti-thelatediagnosedautist]

The learning about autism guide.

Learning about autism can take more nuance than one might realise.

A lot of the current info about autism is created and published without the input of actual autistic people. This is actually a problem with a lot of medical research and articles, but for autism it is especially true.

When researching about autism, it is important to find information from autistic people. Autistic sources.

One example of a bad place to research Autism is "Autism Speaks". Autism speaks is so notorious for it's misinformation, stereotyping and villainising of autism that it is actually largely considered a hate group by autistic people.

Things to look out for to know you are looking at a bad source about autism:

- Uses the term "Asperger's" as the main noun in place of autism.

- Is directed at parents. (Yes, even if you are a parent of an autistic child looking for advice this can still be a red flag! It is much more beneficial to look at sources written by autistic people as we know autism best!)

- Talks about any 'cure' of autism.

- Any negative framing of autism, eg "Autism is an illness". "Autism is damaging". "Autism is hiding in your children." (Anything that implies autism as a wholly negative disability is not going to be a good source.)

- Use of the puzzle piece or the colour blue.

- Anything that implies autism is "not a disability". Phrases might sound like "Autism is JUST another neurotype", "Autism is only disabling because of society", "Autism is not a disability, it's a different set of abilities".

- Encourages punishing stimming, or rewarding for not talking about special interests, or rewarding for not stimming. (These kind of strategies teach children to mask and ignore their needs, personality and interests which can become extremely damaging behaviours to their mental and physical health).

Signs that you have found a good source about autism:

- Uses the term "Autism" or "ASD" or "Autism Spectrum Disorder" as the main noun. Any use of the word "Asperger's" is historical in mention, or context specific. (Example "Autism used to also be referred to as "Asperger's Syndrome.")

- Is written by an autistic person, or directed towards autistic individuals. (This means you are learning about autism from the true experts!)

- Talks about strategies for managing the difficult parts of autism, focusing on the autistic persons internal experience, rather than focusing on not annoying other people. (Example might be, how to stop a meltdown before it starts, with healthy coping strategies for the autistic person to use).

- Neutral framing of autism. "Autism is a disability." "Autism affects social skills". No mentions of it destroying lives, being a "horrible" condition. Etc.

- Uses the rainbow or gold infinity symbol. Use of the colours gold or red.

- Talks about the positives and negatives of being an autistic person (ie, special interests can be beneficial for an autistic persons mental wellbeing)

- Encourages accepting autistic people as they are, stimming and all! (Explains what stimming is, what different kinds of stims are, with an aim of creating more acceptance of autism).

please feel free to add more points!

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Autism Pride Day

Every year, June 18 is observed as Autistic Pride Day to create awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder and to make people understand of the need of stopping discrimination against people born with this condition.

History:

In 2005, Aspies for Freedom – a community aiming to create awareness about autism – marked this day to be celebrated as Autistic Pride Day. Since then, it has been celebrated every year.

Significance:

The autistic pride flag symbolises infinite possibilities and diversity. The symbol is of an infinity symbol with rainbow colours filling it. The rainbow symbolises pride. This day calls for awareness about the condition and urges people to smash discrimination against people with ASD and see them through a different lens.

The full article will be below for anyone who wants to read through it.

[kalcifers-blog]

Currently drawing JBM but it's taking the piss because I've decided to do an actual background for once so in the meantime here's a list of things I've included in his design and the thoughts/intentions behind them:

Hearing aids on both ears- he's partially deaf in his left ear (something he developed in his childhood) and he ruptured his right eardrum causing permanent damage which caused hearing loss

PUNK SYMBOLS!! Purple & Yellow laces- to show he supports/is a part of the LGBTQ+ and is Anti-Racist. Safety Pins to show that he's a safe person to approach. Blue ribbon - symbol for Child abuse awareness. Anarchy symbols + Anti-IRIS symbol, BLM fist symbol and "Eat the rich + Feed the poor" patches. Pins with his pride flags (transgender+ MLM flags) and an ASD rainbow infinity symbol pin (I have yet to draw him with one but he also wears an Anti-Autism Speaks patch)

Choppily done mullet with green hair dye- it's meant to look like he's done it himself, he has both sides shaved and has kept the middle grown out. The story behind it is that he was never allowed to cut his hair short as a kid but shaved all of it off when he joined IRIS- he combines the two into a mullet now to show his defiance of both (which is why he also dyes it- something neither would allow him to do before).

He has a visually bent nose and missing front tooth- these are both from separate fights (he does have another missing tooth but you can't see it like you can with his front teeth) the missing front tooth happened after he got into a fight with some older kids while he was in highschool- his nose got bent during one of his early missions with IRIS. This is on top of the amount of other scars he has from various other fights, experimentations and other shit from over the years

He has a few spider themed tattoos(he's a Spider-Man kinnie), as well as an Earth Kingdom (From Avatar the Last Airbender) BRO WOULD BE AN EARTHBENDER FIGHT ME ON THIS‼️‼️

His eyes are an unnatural blue colour- due to the side effects of IRIS' experimentation- his actual eye colour is Hazel/Grey. They glow in the dark- (while Marvin's does in relation to them being cat like-) Jackie's act more similar to electrical glowing

Jackie is British-Irish here (why he's wearing a British patch) he was born and raised in the North-West of England (most likely in Liverpool as Liverpool has 79% of it's citizens be of Irish descent) his mothers side are all from Ireland and his father's side are British (You can imagine the absolute chaos that was the result from this). And yes Chase does remind him of him that he's EXTREMELY British every ten seconds (Chase has immediate beef with him and it's so entertaining to watch)

Jackie knows a few different languages- English, BSL and a small amount of Gaelic, but he also knows some German from Henrik too.

Jackie is the youngest out of all the egos but they all thought he was older because of the fact that he easily has the most muscular/strong body frame and they initially thought he was taller (thank god for platform boots)

Anyway that's all from me for now!!