Most people recognize April 1st as a significant day on the calendar because of April Fools’ Day, but within the realm of autism, the first day of April marks something a little bit different. Namely, it’s the first day of National Autism Awareness Month, first given this designation in April of 1970 by the Autism Society.

The goal of this month is to educate the public and build awareness around autism spectrum disorders and the difficulties and challenges that children with an autism spectrum disorder face. The official imagery has since come to be a puzzle piece. The idea behind the puzzle pieces is to represent the complexity of autism spectrum disorders, and also, as every puzzle piece is different in some way, they represent the diversity of every individual affected by autism. Lastly, the bright colors of the ribbon signify hope – hope that through increased awareness, early intervention and appropriate treatments, all people with autism will be able to lead happier, fuller, more complete lives and improve their daily living skills. In addition to the puzzle piece, the official color for National Autism Awareness Month is a bright royal blue.