Their “Light it Up Blue” campaign calls for people to wear blue to promote autism awareness. Blue is also the organization's primary color, and is associated with a calm feeling and acceptance in an otherwise loud and busy world for people on the spectrum.
Traditionally, the color worn on World Autism Awareness Day has been blue, but members of neurodiverse community are calling for a shift in thinking, asking allies to wear red to support autism acceptance and advocacy rather than just increased awareness.
Light pastel pink has often been chosen as the favorite colour for children with autism in some tests conducted. Cool colors such as blue and green also have a soothing effect. It is recommended that primary and bright colours be used only for toys or play objects in their rooms.
Light it up blue
As a result, a lot of people in the autism community refrain from using blue for awareness/acceptance month, as they don't want to be associated with Autism Speaks, or be perceived as supporting what they stand for.
Wear blue or puzzle pieces
The colour blue and puzzle pieces are universally recognised as representation of autism awareness.
Multi-colored puzzle piece ribbon
As previously mentioned, the symbol that most people associate with autism is the multi-colored, interlocking puzzle piece. This symbol was created by 15 people, some of which were autistic (or people with autism) and others were autism advocates.
The Autistic Empire has released a high-resolution, professionally designed, autistic pride flag under the Creative Commons free culture licence permitting any use of this flag, including commercial use, as long as attribution is made to the Autistic Empire (see details below).
• Neutral colours
Colours such as beige, greys, creams or tans are great for people with autism; they're not distracting and therefore can have a calming effect. White, however, is not an autism-friendly colour – although it is neutral, it can be too bright and tiring for the eyes.
Gold as a colour for today is preferred as it is based on the chemical symbol for gold being 'Au', the first two letters of autism, but also because throughout history gold has been something that is strived for and of immense value – often missing from the lives of autistic people.
Children with autism may have difficulty with fine motor skills and may also struggle with social interactions. Coloring can be a great way to help these children improve their fine motor skills and their ability to focus on a task for an extended period of time.
Blue “Forget-me-not” flower to raise awareness for the needs of people with autism.
More recent research has used the house mouse (Mus musculus) to model autism because it is a social species. Other strains of mice used include mu opioid receptor knockout mice, as well as Fmr1 knockout mice; the latter are also used as animal models of Fragile X syndrome.
Inheritance. ASD has a tendency to run in families, but the inheritance pattern is usually unknown. People with gene changes associated with ASD generally inherit an increased risk of developing the condition, rather than the condition itself.
The color blue is often associated with autism. The reason for this is that blue is a calming color that can help individuals with autism to feel more relaxed and comfortable. Blue is also the color of the puzzle piece in the autism awareness ribbon.
We examined the colors used by researchers in poster graphs to represent the term autism. Research has indicated that the color red has implicit negative associations when evaluation of competence is salient. We found that red was used more often for groups with an autism label than other groups.
THE PUZZLE piece as a symbol for autism was originally used by the National Autism Society in UK in 1963. Time went by and it was used to represent autism by an organisation in America, Autism Speaks.
Having a child on the autism spectrum gives to us the opportunity to obtain the gifts of understanding and patience. Autism gives to us a chance to be more than we might otherwise be as parents, grandparents, friends or family.
The New Golden Rule
Listen to other people's experiences without projecting your own. Respect their needs even when they are different from your own. You do not have to understand someone to respect them or help them.
One of the most common color associations used to represent autism is the rainbow spectrum. Instead of choosing just one color, the range of colors inside the rainbow represents the scope of abilities and diagnoses on the autism spectrum – highlighting the variety of abilities and challenges each faces.
April is Autism Acceptance Month. The recognition raises awareness about autism acceptance and promotes inclusion and connectedness for people with autism.
In 1999, the Autism Society of America designed a puzzle piece ribbon. The symbol was developed as a tool to raise awareness. The puzzle piece signifies the complexity of the autism spectrum. The ribbon represents the diversity of individuals with autism and their families.
Yellow was most often associated with a normal mood and grey with an anxious or depressed mood. Different shades of the same color had completely different positive or negative connotations.
Autism is a neurological developmental disability with an estimated prevalence of one to two percent of the American and worldwide population. The diversity of the disability means that each person's individual experience of autism and needs for supports and services can vary widely.
Famous for their long memories, elephants share strong bonds with their herds and even recognize each other after being separated for decades. This enduring connection is especially strong between a mother elephant and her baby, making it the perfect symbol of the bond forged by families that are touched by autism.
Asperger's Syndrome is a diagnosis that is given to autistic people who did not have delayed speech development as a child. Autism is often known as "the hidden disability" as it may not be immediately apparent. Autism is the only disability that has ever had its own parliamentary act - The Autism Act 2009.