Over the years, many challengers have arisen seeking to take the crown of the definitive autism colour. So, with blue leaving many in the autism community feeling, well, blue and the need for awareness and a community identity stronger than ever, it comes as no surprise that many can feel lost when looking for a colour to umbrella under. (Photo Credit: Autism Speaks) What Colour should represent Autism?

This is probably a conversation for another day but, for now, just know that their messages haven’t exactly been something the autism community wants our colour tied to. As, for much of the charity’s history, Autism Speaks have published ads comparing autism and everything it stands for to a kind of demon waiting to take your loved ones away. Now longtime readers will know just how controversial the autism puzzle piece is, however, I rarely discuss how damaging the pushers of this piece are themselves. The colour then gained further traction in 2007 when the same charity created the Light it up Blue campaign: a World Autism Awareness Day initiative, which saw landmarks, celebs and everything else imaginable bathed in the charity’s colours around the world. This was due to a myriad of factors but rooted at the centre of them all was the American charity Autism Speaks – which was launched in 2005 and featured a blue puzzle piece as their logo. In stark contrast to the Brit boy band of the same name, Blue’s popularity only rose during the late 2000s.

However, at that time, blue was also chosen as autism was widely considered a male-only condition – an idea which has since been proven wrong and, in many ways, damaging for female representation on the spectrum. While the world of autism was a blank canvas for much of the late 20 th century, with most of the discussions surrounding autism taking place in laboratories and psychologist catch-ups (fun), changes in understanding in the early 2000s meant that autism awareness became a top priority for the newly formed autistic community and, as such, we needed colours to fly our flag and grab attention.įor better or worse (but mostly worse), many gravitated towards the colour blue – due to its connotations with calmness and acceptance. (Photo Credit: Grayson) The Colourful History of Autism Colour

Rainbow colors in order red to purple