"Autism Awareness" is such a nebulous term for me. Also, I see the slogan "Until All The Pieces Fit" & can't help but disagree. Any pieces my son has fit just fine; they're just in a pattern more difficult for others to discern. What comes to my mind most when I see "Autism Awareness" stickers, is the need to educate those not dealing with neurological impairments, issues, whatever you wish to call it. Just like how people were so ignorant of how ADD/ADHD worked back in the 80's (what I call The Dark Ages), so too are so many people ignorant that while yes, it IS all in these kid's heads, they CAN'T "just get over it". I'd much rather see those stickers saying something like "Understand Autism", or "Educate Yourself On Autism".

It has meant different things to me at different points along the road my family has traveled. Today, my awareness magnet on my car isn't to educate those who don't live it. It is a shout out to all those out there who are living in the autism community. "You are not alone". When I see others with the ribbon or puzzle piece, I feel less alone and I know if they saw my son in a store...they would give me a smile of encouragement, not a dirty look or a confused stare.

@ RichOrnelas

My parents decided just to kick me out of their life, and taught my siblings likewise. I know it's hard having autistic children, I have them too. But it's even harder being autistic, and the older we get the worse it is for us.

My point for the question to you was not to contradict but to further ask. Most leave out autistics and especially autistic adults when considering such things. So I wondered.

My son was diagnosed with ASD in 1996... talk about dark ages. I was lucky... I was already on the internet back then which helped... somewhat. But the awareness level was at "0".

My son recently graduated High School and I felt the need to "give back". I created a Blog to promote "Autism Awareness" and that's when I found out about the 1 in 88... OMG who new... I was shocked!! You would think that a parent of a child with ASD would know, but neither myself nor my ex-wife were advocates, we did the"ASD" thing at the beginning and my son turned out to be "high functioning" later on, so it became about IEP, Aids and dealing with whatever hurdles came our way.

Making sure people know (and by that mean people that are not directly affected by it) is truly important. Awareness = Money = Help and Resources.

So to boil it down; Autism Awareness to me is about helping the next generation of children.

BLOG: http://globalautismawareness.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/globalautismawareness

Autism Awareness to me is: Loving my son and other's like him for who they are. Recognizing their abilities not disabilities. They are human, they have feelings, they have desires, they want acceptance. Most importantly they want to be loved. That is Autism advocacy and Acceptance to me. :)