Alexa is the answer, not a puzzle piece…
One of the major problems that I have with the whole Autism Puzzle Piece Symbol thing is the message that it sends to those afflicted with the disorder. I understand that researchers are looking towards “the answer”; that they are baffled by this disorder that neither knows a cause nor a cure. However, I would hate for my daughter to think of herself as having a “missing link”; or that she’s that she’s incomplete. My concerns about the whole “puzzle” crap were deepened when I read Post Secret one Sunday. The postcard showed an Autism Puzzle Ribbon and on it, the person revealing their secret wrote, “I am not a puzzle.”
I do not belong to any Autism groups. I have never met another parent of an autistic child who I have felt comfortable with. Does that make me somehow better than them? No. But I’m not one to label my child to the point of limiting her potential. I’m realistic — she’s probably not going to play Little League this year. However, there are certain points that she can excel at. Art, for instance. She can draw EXCEPTIONALLY well. She has reading skills. She likes to make necklaces and color. She’s a Daisy Scout. There are certain things that she is unable to do. But I love her. And she, the puzzle piece, completes me.
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