Talk about identity. How do you identify? Autistic? Asperger’s? Person with Autism? What’s your take on person/identity first language?
I identify as autistic, my official diagnosis is Autism Spectrum Disorder level 1/Asperger’s. For some reason both diagnoses are mentioned on my paperwork. And it’s even further confused by the fact that the doctor who evaluated me said if I had been diagnosed before the DSM5 I would most likely have been diagnosed with high functioning autism. I’m still not really clear on the distinction between Asperger’s and high functioning autism though I believe the only real difference was that HFA presents with a speech delay while Asperger’s doesn’t. I guess it’s kind of irrelevant now anyway since it’s all been combined. So yeah, I just identify as autistic.
I greatly prefer identity first language (IFL). My autism is a part of me; it’s not an accessory to be added or removed at will. Autism is a central part of my identity, it makes me who I am. It’s my neurology. Saying person with autism implies that the autism is somehow separate, that can be taken out, or that it’s temporary. I don’t like the similarity in phrasing to things like ‘I have a cold’ or ‘I have cancer.’ Autism is a harmless difference in the brain, not a disease. I am autistic, it is not a negative attribute, it’s a statement of fact. Autistic is something I am not something I have.
In my experience, the people who prefer person first are the people who view autism as something inherently negative. They’re also the people who use phrases like ‘suffers from autism.’ The argument for person first language (PFL) is to stress our humanity and that first and foremost we are people. But why do you need to remind yourself that we are people? Do you forget? Person first language isn’t used in reference to other things. Women are not people with femaleness. White people are not people with whiteness or people who are Caucasian. Redheads are not called people with hair that is red. So why do people refer to autism this way? And it’s not the autistic people who prefer this phrasing; it’s the parents. Because they want to think that somewhere hiding behind the autism is a typical child. That if they could take the autism out their child would be normal. Using PFL is a way to separate the autism from the person so that it becomes a theoretical concept. Which in turn opens the door to people saying things like ‘I love my son but I hate his autism.’ How exactly does that work? Your son is autistic, the autism shapes his behavior and who he is, there is no typical child underneath the autism.
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