The infinity symbol represents the wide and varied spectrum of experiences within neurodiversity, the rainbow represents the movement of pride. The infinity sign of the rainbow symbolizes neurodiversity. Other reasons I've seen for throwing the puzzle piece away is because it's an infantilizing and child-looking symbol, it implies the need to solve the “autistic riddle” (which means finding a cure) and many other criticisms that can be heard when listening to other autistic people. I like to keep an open mind and recognize that this is a spectrum for a reason: some people will connect with all the symbols, while others will only connect with one.
The puzzle piece is a symbol created by holistic people who wanted to emphasize the “misery and mystery of autism”. Paula added that the symbol is problematic for autistic people because the campaign around the symbol seemed negative. The infinity symbol is also a fairly new symbol and was created with the help of neurodiversity advocates for use anytime, anywhere. The neurodiversity flag features the iconic symbol of the infinite mobius rainbow band on a white background.
The Autism Society has a section on their website where they ask readers what the piece of the puzzle means to them and there are a lot of conflicting feelings related to the symbol. As mentioned above, the symbol that most people associate with autism is the multicolored, intertwined puzzle piece. I just disagree with the blue piece of the puzzle because it's a symbol of Autism Speaks, which is a horrible organization that seeks to cure autism and sees it as a burden and a rope around the necks of caregivers. The butterfly is a fairly new symbol and some advocates have suggested that it be used as a replacement for the puzzle piece.
Thomas says that the creators were looking to design a symbol that would represent the complexity and neurodiversity of people with autism, so the idea of joining the pieces of a puzzle came up. If I had to choose a favorite symbol, I would choose the color blue, mainly because blue is one of my favorite colors. It's also considered a response to the puzzle piece symbol, which many autistic people find to be very offensive. The main objective of creating each symbol is for autistic people to understand each other better and have the opportunity to enjoy a full life in a welcoming society.
