Lapel Pins Spark Discussion on Autism

The Autism Speaks’ lapel pin starts conversations about the neurological disorder, reports The New York Times, in a first-person account of an activist’s interactions with strangers while wearing the pin.

Mark Roithmayr, president of the national nonprofit organization Autism Speaks, in New York, sports the puzzle-shaped lapel pin to help raise awareness of the disorder, which affects an estimated 1 in every 150 children.

He recounts how people initiate conversations with him about autism upon noticing the pin. Many of them have relatives affected with the disorder or are even affected themselves with a mild form of the disorder.

“I always take off my pin and give it to someone who shares his or her story. I think of it as ‘pinning forward.’” Mr. Roithmayr tells The Times. “In fact, I have learned to take a small bag of pins with me whenever I travel because passengers and airline workers — even the security guys — regularly ask me for them.”

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