How To Talk About Autism

As a proud Autistic woman, when my youngest son started primary school last year, I cringed every time I heard Autism referred to as a “disorder” or “ASD”. Each uttering of “D” or “Disorder” felt like a blow to who I am, who my son is, our culture, biology and way of being. As the saying goes, the pen is mightier than the sword and words are powerful tools for shaping and sharing our interpretations of the world – especially when teaching young children!

Many Autistic adults and their allies prefer the use of terms “Autistic” or “Autistic person” rather than “person with autism” or “person on the autism spectrum”. We capitalise the A because Autism is a part of our identity, akin to being Australian or Catholic.

The medical model of Autism, such as the DSM-5, refers to Autism as a “disorder”. Most of the Disability community prefers the social model of disability. Neurodiversity positions Autism as a natural and necessary neurotype.

Neurodiversity and neurodivergence are terms created by the Autistic community, it’s perfectly fine to call people neurodivergent when talking about people of minority neurotypes. When you refer to ‘neurodiverse people’, you are referring to absolutely everyone – including neurotypical people – so often it’s a bit silly and redundant.

Given that we see Autism as a perfectly natural and necessary neurotype, we have differences – but not deficits.

In summary, we would prefer that you use:

Autistic person rather than person with Autism or person on the spectrum.

Autism rather than Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD.

Neurotype rather than disorder.

Neurodivergent people rather than neurodiverse people.

Differences rather than deficits.

Thank you!

~Rockabilby


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