No More Puzzles

Kayla and I decided that it was time to put away the puzzle pieces and give our blog a much-needed facelift.

The truth is, we have never felt that Hudson was a "puzzle". He isn't someone that has to be solved to be understood, or someone that is almost complete (minus a couple of pieces missing somewhere). He didn't come from a box with a picture-perfect image on the front of what he is supposed to look like. There are no pages to follow on how to construct him properly, and no models to go by.

Hudson is beautifully perfect as he is. He is loving, caring, funny, and sensitive. He's also vibrant and loud, incredibly ambitious, and the smartest kid that we likely will ever meet. We will never stop learning who Hudson is as he grows; but he's certainly the furthest thing from a puzzle to us.

Autism Speaks helped bring the puzzle piece forward as a symbol for autism awareness. And here recently, advocacy groups have started speaking out against the derogatory undertones that the puzzle piece represents. To many, the puzzle piece is symbolic to individuals with autism not fitting into society, or being just slightly out of place.

While it is true that the neurotypical world has a ways to go to fully accept what autism is, we can see that many are trying. We are putting away the puzzle pieces forever and choosing to embrace the vision that we had for this blog when we started it two years ago. The infinity symbol represents that autism has been... is... and always will be... here forever. There is no fad or cure to make the spectrum disappear. And honestly, after seeing all the gifts that Hudson has, we couldn't imagine a world without autism.

Kayla and I appreciate everyone who follows our blog and shares it with others. We are just getting started on our journey to promote Autism Acceptance and hope that you'll stick with us as we continue to learn and grow along the way.

We could not have made this facelift without the help of my extremely talented co-worker. David - thank you for the late hours you spent helping us redesign the theme of our site. We are eternally grateful for your contribution!