How do We Talk About Autism?

A topic of frequent contention is how autism is discussed, on a variety of different topics around it. The medical system, which pathologizes autism, uses “person-first” language, as-in “a person with autism”, with the intended purpose of highlighting the person as independent from the condition. The opposing viewpoint is to use “identity-first” language, as-in “an autistic person”, with the intended purpose of highlighting the condition as a fundamental part of the person.

While there are going to be outliers in any group, the consensus within autistic communities is to use the latter, identity-first, language. Part of the reasoning is that person-first language treats autism as a disorder, and separate from the person, when many within the community feel that autism is not a disorder or a disability, the way the world as designed is disabling; there may be co-morbid disorders that are not related to autism itself; and that there is no way to separate the person from the autism. Another argument for its usage is that disability is not a bad word, and being disabled is not a moral failing.