People-First Language?

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This was brought up by someone in another board, so I thought I'd see what peoples' opinions are on it. Do you think that person-first language should be used for autistic people? How about for other disabilities? Does it offend you? Does not using it offend you? Do you care either way?

The second one is silly. Language should illuminate and clarify. Adding verbiage to make some obscure point (I am a person first, autistic second?) does neither. People outside the autistic community aren't further enlightened by it, and likely would find such an awkward phrasing a little grating and pointless. People within the community don't need to have the distinction pointed out in such a clumsy manner.

Just my opinion.

Clumsy indeed , and strange. Oh hello , i'm a person with femaleness...what the...?

I don't care too much either way as long as nobody is trying to force me to do it their way and only their way.

I'm not offended by "I'm autistic", but I am a "person with autism" because it sounds nicer somehow. Just one of those things.

What if I do not care either way?

Just pick which one you usually say when talking about yourself. Think of it like this: If someone asked you about conditions you have and you had to respond with either "i'm autistic" or something like "i'm a person with autism" or "i have autism," which would you prefer to, or be more likely to, say?

One feels more awkward but accurate, the other feels more natural to use but has an inaccurate implication (that the person with autism IS autism). Ahh, language... my old friend and foe.

I happen to agree... there should have been a third option. The whole thing eeks of political correctness... and Aspies are generally not the PC type. What difference does it make?

I think it's silly and awkward. It seems to imply that you have to be polite and distance autism from me, tip-toe around it like it's shameful or something.

I don't get mad if someone calls me a "person with autism" because all that generally means is they're trying to be "sensitive" and politically correct; but I definitely prefer being called "autistic".

Hmm. I don't think "person with autism" always means that -- for some reason sometimes it just runs off my fingers better than "autistic person" for reasons I don't understand, and I suspect a lot of other people have no real implied meaning in how they use it. I voted for "autistic person" just because that's usually the one that rolls off my fingers better, but I often end up typing either one depending on reasons that I don't understand.

What irks me is when people insist I'm doing something wrong by using "autistic person" (because it supposedly implies that's all there is to us... yeah right), or when they think I've put a particular implied message about autism if I used "person with autism". Not really the assumption you made here, more the people who can't stand anyone ever using it and will decide I had political motives or some crap for saying "person with autism" when it just happened to come out my brain that way at the time.

I'm a person with maleness, a person with alopecia, and a person with autism.

How is this better than, "I am a balding autistic man"?

This is important question, to say “I am autistic” is saying your personality is based on autism, including the facets or components of your personality, which expresses autistic culture.

To say “I am a person who has autism” is saying I am a individual who's personality is individual,
but as facets or components which are autistic, which expresses a individual and separate culture from autism and neurotypical cultures.

The first one “I am autistic” implies there is no choice, the second one “I am a person who has autism” asserts a choice by the individual to be seen as a individual and not a disorder.

This is of course my personal view and I choose the second question “I am a person who has autism”, because I think the WP forum is the place to establish a culture which is Aspie and is not Autism or neurotypical in origin, which in turn allows for individuals diagnosed or not, who have a belief they are asperger, to define a common culture through their similar experiences.

Either work for me, but I usually say "I'm autistic."

Political correctness is the epitome of futility.

It's when they use "autistic" as a noun that usually causes problems. ("He is an autistic living in New York," for example.)

What's wrong with using it as a noun?

I don't know. I didn't mean that I thought it was a big problem; it's a big problem among groups of certain "autism advocates" or whatever, though. I personally wouldn't call myself "an autistic", but I'd say, "I'm autistic."