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Sure can't. Good ol' 'Merica! The greatest country in the world to live in! Only if you're a 35+ year old neurotypical cis white male, that is. The rest of us can go fuck ourselves.
You can if you decide not to give a shit what the idiots - I mean, grown ass adults who pick on people, demonstrating their sub-kindergarten emotional intelligence - think about you.
I know it’s hard to do but it is something you can choose, fr. My life improved drastically when I really sat down and had a think about the classic “no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
Not trying to be a dick. But have you only ever been to 100% white suburban rich towns or something?? That’s the only place I know of where being weird gets you anything more than an odd look maybe.
I grew up in a poor neighborhood with lots of different ethnicities together. I got beat up and bullied all the time. As an adult, I've been harassed and assaulted because of my autism. That's just been my experience though
Again. Not trying to be a dick. And maybe it’s bias from where I grew up. But:
There’s chance that it wasn’t you were different, but that you was an “easy mark” so to say, being different helps with that but I’ve avoided being bullied or anything like that by being, well honestly just large. With a bit of a “tough” personality too. Despite being autistic and nerdy as hell.
Not saying you deserved it. But it should be noted on why things happen and to not get the cause of it mixed. But maybe i’m wrong idk your story.
It is a bit of a crux when common or widely used stuff gets new meaning. Some might see it as an old meaning while some would see it as the new meaning. And not everyone is in the know of the new meaning, so they might assume olf meaning.
Like the sunflower is used as a hidden disability symbol, but is also also a national symbol of ukraine. So a person with a sunflower could either have a hidden disability or ukrainian.
Or the rainbow thing. In christianity rainbow is associated with god's protection. Nowadays rainbow is also associated with lgbtq+. I think there are small differences, but most people simplify things and call the 6 coloured pride flag a rainbow, even though rainbows have 7 colours. It could also be that the person just likes how the rainbow looks.
Tldr. Things have multiple meanings and it is based on context and knowing about the person, so people might misinterpret things.
Yeah I live here as well and have heard of it but honestly if I saw a sunflower in clothing I wouldn’t think twice about it and I can’t imagine anyone else would as well unfortunately.
Only in participating businesses. You can view all the places on the program via their website. It is spreading, but very slowly. Much more recognized in the UK.
You may run into a handful of people who recognize the symbol, but it is safe to assume almost everyone else won’t recognize it. I only know about the symbol because I’m in disability communities online.
I wish we had a symbol like the sunflower though!
As an autistic person in the U.S. myself, I have literally never heard of it until reading this post, despite participating in autism/autistic communities beyond just this particular subreddit. (And beyond just Reddit in general.)
I’m sure it’s a thing in some of those communities, but this is the first time I have personally seen a mention of it (that I can recall).
I never heard about a "hidden disability Sunflower". As far as I know the current symbol for autism is the infinity symbol in rainbow colours (replacing some "missing puzzle piece" symbol from the past). I would wear that, and some people may know it ...
Yes! I hate the concept of a puzzle piece (often blue) the idea behind it makes no sense at best and seems patronising at worst. Infinity better sums up the spectrum as a singular concept. I’d appreciate any unusual geometrical structure though. If they did a möbius strip crossed with an infinity ♾️ that would sum me up, infinite and singular all-in-one 😂
It's actually not just for autism, hence why it doesn't use the infinity symbol. The lanyard is meant to be a way to recognise all hidden disabilities generally.
I have a hidden disability - brain damage - so I know what it is. I’m not sure how universal it is in the USA. I live north of San Francisco, California.
Nope. Even at events where it’s offered, people still don’t know what it is. I was wearing a sunflower sticker at GDC (Game Developers Conference) & people kept asking me what it was.
It was federally recognized last year in Brazil, but most people don't know what it is yet. You might notice some places like supermarkets are starting to add the sunflower ribbon to the priority lines
I've seen a handful of sunflower things in the university recently. I just thought it was pretty or smth, that is a bit surprising. I wish I'd known. Not that it would make any difference anyway.
Np. I picked on you cause of the expression "wrong" at the beginning of your sentence. I'm also sry lols.
Edit: pq eu tou falando um inglês horrível se vc claramente fala português.
it’s not widely recognized, but i’d still suggest getting one [from the official website](https://hdsunflower.com/us/)! there are some people that will recognize it, and you could even put your pins on it. recognition is slowly growing here in the states
I've never seen the sunflower used here, I'm from the USA, but I've also never had people assume I'm lying about my pins that I wear. I'm a typically high masking individual, as well. People trying to claim you're lying or exaggerating then (given you're in a safe environment, I have no clue what where you live is like) tell them that you'd appreciate if they stop being ableist. It's the only thing that I've found to work on those people, but I say it when I'm in an environment where I know the people around me will defend me if something goes wrong, verbally or physically. It's one of the perks of working in the neighborhood I grew up in, they mess up people who try to hurt their people and regular grocery store workers can easily fall into that category if they see you enough. So my situation is always safe to say it, but please make sure you're safe before doing it because people really can be psychos.
I'm happy that you live in such a good environment for that! Unfortunately where I live, I would definitely put a big target on my back if I told anyone to stop being ableist. I've tried that a few times and have always been met with ridicule or worse :/
In the US not really, I didn't even learn about the sunflower being a neurodivergent symbol till some random person at my job mentioned my tattoo.
I was in a funk back in 2022 and I saw a tattoo artist work on my Instagram story, I immediately rushed to his shop and bought two pieces of his limited artwork and so now, I'm one and the only one with two pieces of his unique designs, one of them being a sunflower with the evil spirit eye and the other being a strawberry with the evil spirit eye.
I live in the US and know what it means from YouTube... couldn't say much for anyone else though. I also have never seen anyone actually wearing the Sunflower lanyard irl
I’ve seen it at multiple airports across the US, but no one knows how to help anyone with it anyway. Not even staff at the booth that offers it at Newark Airport knew what it really was.
As an aside, they “welcome” it at Sydney Tower (not US, obviously), but I had to talk to a manager there about lack of training.
Basically, I just feel like no one knows what it is or how to support people who wear it.
People might be more understanding with something like
"I have invisible disabilities, please be patient with me!"
Or like
"Not all disabilities are visible - please (whatever accommodation)."
Unfortunately autism is generally not taken seriously unless you're "visibly autistic" (whatever that means) and a lot of people think it's "special snowflake tik tok bullshit" or whatever. Disability recognition in general I think is improving but specifically autism acceptance is kind of going backwards.
You don't owe anyone your diagnosis anyway, and being vague MIGHT be more effective.
I don't think the sunflower is well recognized in north america except at airports and possibly cruise lines.
No. Never hurts to try it but even stating you're autistic outright doesn't get you extra help here in the USA, so wearing a a flower pin isn't going to do it.
I have one and so far every disability worker I've had has said "Nice lanyard. You like sunflowers hey?"
None of them had any idea it meant anything at all.
I've asked at medical facilities out of curiosity. "Do you know what this is?" . The most I got from a nurse was "It's related to some kind of disability thing"
So that's embarrassing to the whole notion.😳😬
Sorry to report :S
I’m autistic and I just got a sunflower lanyard to wear at the airport. I currently live in the US. I think airport workers will recognize it, but regular people might not.
That's because on TikTok and other social media platforms it's in to tell others you are neurodivergent. When you look at some videos there, you could get the impression that 25% of all 16 to 20 year old all have autism since they claim they have it or other neurodivergent issues. At the same time, they don't show any issues at all. Besides them claiming they have issues.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean. I didn't hear about it on TikTok so I can't speak to how it's handled there or not, but them "not showing any issues at all" is kind of the point of the project. It's for disabilities that might not be directly or visually apparent.
Practically no one.
I know what it is only recently and wouldn’t even notice if someone was wearing it. Generally I notice the fact that they’re disabled already. and if I don’t notice they they’re disabled then that means they probably didn’t need it anyway.
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I can confidently tell you that the hidden disability sunflower is not generally recognized in the United States.
That's what I was afraid of. I guess one can't escape ridicule for being different in the States huh
Sure can't. Good ol' 'Merica! The greatest country in the world to live in! Only if you're a 35+ year old neurotypical cis white male, that is. The rest of us can go fuck ourselves.
Sunflowers had some popularity as a supporting Ukraine thing. They're also pretty and inexpensive.
It is recognized in the Dallas area.
You can if you decide not to give a shit what the idiots - I mean, grown ass adults who pick on people, demonstrating their sub-kindergarten emotional intelligence - think about you. I know it’s hard to do but it is something you can choose, fr. My life improved drastically when I really sat down and had a think about the classic “no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
Not trying to be a dick. But have you only ever been to 100% white suburban rich towns or something?? That’s the only place I know of where being weird gets you anything more than an odd look maybe.
I grew up in a poor neighborhood with lots of different ethnicities together. I got beat up and bullied all the time. As an adult, I've been harassed and assaulted because of my autism. That's just been my experience though
Again. Not trying to be a dick. And maybe it’s bias from where I grew up. But: There’s chance that it wasn’t you were different, but that you was an “easy mark” so to say, being different helps with that but I’ve avoided being bullied or anything like that by being, well honestly just large. With a bit of a “tough” personality too. Despite being autistic and nerdy as hell. Not saying you deserved it. But it should be noted on why things happen and to not get the cause of it mixed. But maybe i’m wrong idk your story.
I have sooo many nt friends with sunflower tattoos too
It is a bit of a crux when common or widely used stuff gets new meaning. Some might see it as an old meaning while some would see it as the new meaning. And not everyone is in the know of the new meaning, so they might assume olf meaning. Like the sunflower is used as a hidden disability symbol, but is also also a national symbol of ukraine. So a person with a sunflower could either have a hidden disability or ukrainian. Or the rainbow thing. In christianity rainbow is associated with god's protection. Nowadays rainbow is also associated with lgbtq+. I think there are small differences, but most people simplify things and call the 6 coloured pride flag a rainbow, even though rainbows have 7 colours. It could also be that the person just likes how the rainbow looks. Tldr. Things have multiple meanings and it is based on context and knowing about the person, so people might misinterpret things.
Yeah I live here as well and have heard of it but honestly if I saw a sunflower in clothing I wouldn’t think twice about it and I can’t imagine anyone else would as well unfortunately.
I had never heard of it until reading this post, and likely wouldn't be aware or recognize it.
Same (in Sweden)
Only in participating businesses. You can view all the places on the program via their website. It is spreading, but very slowly. Much more recognized in the UK.
You may run into a handful of people who recognize the symbol, but it is safe to assume almost everyone else won’t recognize it. I only know about the symbol because I’m in disability communities online. I wish we had a symbol like the sunflower though!
i’ve seen it in some airports, but i don’t think i’ve seen it anywhere else
I've seen them available in airports.
They apparently originally started out in airports originally.
The list of American airports is also pretty limited. The one international airport I saw listed in Southern California was *not* LAX.
I had never heard of this until now (USA). I think it's a great idea. Thank you for bringing it to our attention - maybe more people will take notice.
I’m in the US and haven’t heard of it. Sounds nice tho.
As an autistic person in the U.S. myself, I have literally never heard of it until reading this post, despite participating in autism/autistic communities beyond just this particular subreddit. (And beyond just Reddit in general.) I’m sure it’s a thing in some of those communities, but this is the first time I have personally seen a mention of it (that I can recall).
I never heard about a "hidden disability Sunflower". As far as I know the current symbol for autism is the infinity symbol in rainbow colours (replacing some "missing puzzle piece" symbol from the past). I would wear that, and some people may know it ...
Yes! I hate the concept of a puzzle piece (often blue) the idea behind it makes no sense at best and seems patronising at worst. Infinity better sums up the spectrum as a singular concept. I’d appreciate any unusual geometrical structure though. If they did a möbius strip crossed with an infinity ♾️ that would sum me up, infinite and singular all-in-one 😂
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but that’s exactly it! It feels patronizing and gives me an ick.
It's actually not just for autism, hence why it doesn't use the infinity symbol. The lanyard is meant to be a way to recognise all hidden disabilities generally.
The rainbow 🌈 infinity ♾️ is for all forms of neurodiversity- not specifically associated with autism in particular.
Check out this Etsy listing. This is the sunflower design they’re talking about. https://www.etsy.com/listing/792203212/
thanks. never saw that before, but is also a nice idea.
I have a hidden disability - brain damage - so I know what it is. I’m not sure how universal it is in the USA. I live north of San Francisco, California.
Nope. Even at events where it’s offered, people still don’t know what it is. I was wearing a sunflower sticker at GDC (Game Developers Conference) & people kept asking me what it was.
I have only heard of it because I have a disabled child.
i can confidently tell you that the hidden disability sunflower is really well hidden. (sry bout the joke. I just never heard of it - Brazilian here)
It was federally recognized last year in Brazil, but most people don't know what it is yet. You might notice some places like supermarkets are starting to add the sunflower ribbon to the priority lines
I've seen a handful of sunflower things in the university recently. I just thought it was pretty or smth, that is a bit surprising. I wish I'd known. Not that it would make any difference anyway.
Wrong, adhd and autistic people uses them here in Brazil, is very common even in the small cities.
Im Sorry but whats wrong? That o dont know or that im joking about me not knowing?
You said you never heard of it, so I thought you really didn't know about. Sry
Np. I picked on you cause of the expression "wrong" at the beginning of your sentence. I'm also sry lols. Edit: pq eu tou falando um inglês horrível se vc claramente fala português.
it’s not widely recognized, but i’d still suggest getting one [from the official website](https://hdsunflower.com/us/)! there are some people that will recognize it, and you could even put your pins on it. recognition is slowly growing here in the states
I've never seen the sunflower used here, I'm from the USA, but I've also never had people assume I'm lying about my pins that I wear. I'm a typically high masking individual, as well. People trying to claim you're lying or exaggerating then (given you're in a safe environment, I have no clue what where you live is like) tell them that you'd appreciate if they stop being ableist. It's the only thing that I've found to work on those people, but I say it when I'm in an environment where I know the people around me will defend me if something goes wrong, verbally or physically. It's one of the perks of working in the neighborhood I grew up in, they mess up people who try to hurt their people and regular grocery store workers can easily fall into that category if they see you enough. So my situation is always safe to say it, but please make sure you're safe before doing it because people really can be psychos.
I'm happy that you live in such a good environment for that! Unfortunately where I live, I would definitely put a big target on my back if I told anyone to stop being ableist. I've tried that a few times and have always been met with ridicule or worse :/
I know that in my country, Brazil, it was recognized last year, but I don't have the knowledge about the situation in the USA.
In the US not really, I didn't even learn about the sunflower being a neurodivergent symbol till some random person at my job mentioned my tattoo. I was in a funk back in 2022 and I saw a tattoo artist work on my Instagram story, I immediately rushed to his shop and bought two pieces of his limited artwork and so now, I'm one and the only one with two pieces of his unique designs, one of them being a sunflower with the evil spirit eye and the other being a strawberry with the evil spirit eye.
It's recognized in most airports here but I don't think anywhere else in the USA
I live in the US and know what it means from YouTube... couldn't say much for anyone else though. I also have never seen anyone actually wearing the Sunflower lanyard irl
I’ve seen it at multiple airports across the US, but no one knows how to help anyone with it anyway. Not even staff at the booth that offers it at Newark Airport knew what it really was. As an aside, they “welcome” it at Sydney Tower (not US, obviously), but I had to talk to a manager there about lack of training. Basically, I just feel like no one knows what it is or how to support people who wear it.
I am a USAian, and am not familiar with the sunflower as an icon for neurodiversity.
Sunflower 🌻 represents invisible disabilities. I have brain damage, and am considering getting a sunflower icon for myself
If not for Reddit I would be unaware of its existence.
its barely recognised in the UK tbh even though it is well publicised between disability advocates and available in certain shops
People might be more understanding with something like "I have invisible disabilities, please be patient with me!" Or like "Not all disabilities are visible - please (whatever accommodation)." Unfortunately autism is generally not taken seriously unless you're "visibly autistic" (whatever that means) and a lot of people think it's "special snowflake tik tok bullshit" or whatever. Disability recognition in general I think is improving but specifically autism acceptance is kind of going backwards. You don't owe anyone your diagnosis anyway, and being vague MIGHT be more effective. I don't think the sunflower is well recognized in north america except at airports and possibly cruise lines.
No. Never hurts to try it but even stating you're autistic outright doesn't get you extra help here in the USA, so wearing a a flower pin isn't going to do it.
I have one and so far every disability worker I've had has said "Nice lanyard. You like sunflowers hey?" None of them had any idea it meant anything at all. I've asked at medical facilities out of curiosity. "Do you know what this is?" . The most I got from a nurse was "It's related to some kind of disability thing" So that's embarrassing to the whole notion.😳😬 Sorry to report :S
Yes it is.
I've found the rainbow infinity symbol is far more often recognized than the sunflower.
I’m autistic and I just got a sunflower lanyard to wear at the airport. I currently live in the US. I think airport workers will recognize it, but regular people might not.
Honestly, in the US, it just makes you a target. Statistically, especially by police.
That's because on TikTok and other social media platforms it's in to tell others you are neurodivergent. When you look at some videos there, you could get the impression that 25% of all 16 to 20 year old all have autism since they claim they have it or other neurodivergent issues. At the same time, they don't show any issues at all. Besides them claiming they have issues.
I'm not exactly sure what you mean. I didn't hear about it on TikTok so I can't speak to how it's handled there or not, but them "not showing any issues at all" is kind of the point of the project. It's for disabilities that might not be directly or visually apparent.
[https://www.psypost.org/a-disturbing-number-of-tiktok-videos-about-autism-include-claims-that-are-patently-false-study-finds/](https://www.psypost.org/a-disturbing-number-of-tiktok-videos-about-autism-include-claims-that-are-patently-false-study-finds/)
I see
Do you mean a sunflower badge? https://hdsunflower.com/media/global/2-min.png
Pretty much, yeah. From what I had heard there were a few different ways to wear it, like a wristband, a lanyard, a badge, a ribbon, etc I think
Practically no one. I know what it is only recently and wouldn’t even notice if someone was wearing it. Generally I notice the fact that they’re disabled already. and if I don’t notice they they’re disabled then that means they probably didn’t need it anyway.