Comments on: The (Puzzling) Ribbon Culture

By: Bonnie Sayers

Bonnie Sayers — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:36:28 +0000

My magnet got removed at the car wash and never found again. I used to adorn my other minivan with bumper stickers. Once when I left the gym and was heading home this man followed me to every light beeping and wanted to know more since his daughter had just been diagnosed.

It seemed to be a way to identify my car as people in grocery store would say are you the one with the autism signs and once someone walked by my house and saw the minivan on street and said is that yours and proceeded to have a conversation with me about autism.

I have coasters on coffee table and also magnets on the fridgerator. One says autism rocks, and flaps and the other says april is autism awareness month.

It is a start to spark a conversation most of the time. I also have the car magnet that says occupant has autism and may not follow verbal commands and then one that has a place for their names to say they have autism.

By: The So-Called Autism Pandemic

The So-Called Autism Pandemic — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:17:48 +0000

[...] Stanton notes that he is “much more interested in the questions and the answers that will arise from the recently announced Audit of Adults with Autism” and also that “real data, fit for purpose is an all too rare occurrence in debates about autism.” Indeed yes, and especially for all that terms like “autism epidemic” and “autism pandemic” get thrown around, the fact is that there are a lot of autistic people of every age out there who have many needs. Some need, as The Scotsman notes, better school placements and teachers with real training in teaching autistic children; everyone needs more understanding that goes beyond basic “awareness.” [...]

By: It’s Not So Hard to Be Green

It’s Not So Hard to Be Green — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:22:03 +0000

[...] down to the last week-plus of Autism Awareness Month 2008. We’ve been asked to wear our awareness, to eat and shop and to give $$$$ in support of autism—not that my autistic son has been [...]

By: Eats, Shops, and Gives…..

Eats, Shops, and Gives….. — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:26:36 +0000

[...] “edible awareness” and “shopping awareness” (if you’re shopping for ribbons) and giving awareness (as in giving $$$?)….. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism speaks, [...]

By: Last Week’s Top Posts

Last Week’s Top Posts — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:46:20 +0000

[...] The (Puzzling) Ribbon Culture Where I live, it’s not uncommon to see puzzle ribbon and puzzle piece magnets, and tattoos, and wristbands, t-shirts, bumper stickers (not to mention pretzels for “edible awareness”). But what kind of “awareness” do all of these items end up promoting? [...]

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 03:00:41 +0000

Of late, Charlie’s been insistent about keeping his seatbelt on and about telling the rest of to do the same (except for whoever sits on the left side of the back seat—-he dropped a dime into the seat belt a few days after we bought the car and we have never been to get it out).

I have had to pull over when Charlie was having a really tough time in the car once—next thing I knew, a police car drove up. I still had the magnet on the car at that point but it was not noted—-I had to show my driver’s license.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:55:32 +0000

Given that my son will sit where ever he wants, I wouldn’t know where to put a sticker. Also given the fact that police sit and stare at the back of the car to call in your tags, it makes the most sense to put something that will catch his attention to potential problems directly in his line of sight.

By: S.L.

S.L. — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 01:20:32 +0000

I don’t know if a ribbon on your car would change anything. People see the ribbon, and it’s like “ooh, autism” (or “diabetes” or “Darfur” et al) and then it’s gone from their mind. Unless, of course, they have been personally affected by any of those issues.

With all this supposed “autism awareness” in the air, it’s amazing the majority of people still don’t ‘get it.’ We still get the disapproving stares (can’t you stop your child?), we still have school districts unsure how best to help our children, and most of us have no clue what services are going to be available to our children as they become adults. It’s frustrating.

I do think the “occupant has autism” stickers or the ones you place on the car seat (listing autism, plus personal information) are helpful and can be effective.

By: Ingrid

Ingrid — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:10:18 +0000

“If the ribbon was not there and a police officer saw this situation, what would his reaction be and would that reaction endanger my child?”

I considered putting a ribbon on my car for a similar reason. My Ds (5) loves to get out of his seat and wander the car. Sometimes there’s too much traffic for me to be able to pull over to strap him back in. I don’t want to get pulled over and get a fat ticket. Thankfully in the 3 years where he did it frequently that didn’t happen.

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:55:09 +0000

I started wearing a blue autism awareness wristband over a year ago, more to remind me that my challenges day to day are trivial, compared to my daughter’s daily challenges at age 5 with PDD-NOS. I naively thought that perhaps it might also spur some people to ask me what the blue wristband stood for….in 18 months, not a single person, not even relatives, have asked what it represents! So much for creating awareness! I continue to wear it now, just for me, to ensure I keep my eyes on the important stuff.