Autism Language Guide

Want to know the most appropriate way to refer to and speak about autism?
I've made a little guide for you.
glaad.org/gap/robert-f-kenned...
www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn...
#Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismAwareness #LanguageGuide #AutismLanguage #ActuallyAutistic

[@its.Lora.]

I am autistic. And I am tired of people correcting me on how I identify. The day other people magically become me is the day they can tell me to stop saying "I am autistic". ❤

[@fintux]

​@@spitt3640 I would consider asking them if they "have allism", and if they think some people "have blindness" or "have deafness" instead of being blind or deaf. Was she even a therapist, or a person with therapism? 😅

[@nathimoon]

​@@fintux🤯😂 the therapist part was so necessary!

[@Chuntise]

Even being autistic, I used to say “people with autism” with the idea being that it acknowledges that autism is just one aspect of a person and not their sole identity. But then I thought that it seemed weird to say “I have gay.” rather than “I am gay.” and it finally clicked for me. I never thought of being gay as my sole identity but rather part of my identity so why couldn’t being autistic be the same? There are people who like to box you in with a single identity but that’s their issue and I’m not responsible for choosing language to suit their needs. I can identify as many things. I can say I’m autistic and it doesn’t take away from everything else that makes me a diverse human.

[@fintux]

After reading just your first sentene, I thought of the exact same example. And on a side note, for the similar reasons, I don't like the term "neurodivergent", because while there is _diversity_ of neurotypes, I don't like to think the minorities are the divergent ones. Just like I don't consider I'm sexually divergent (I would find that expression very offending). I'm just in a sexual minority. It was Jeremy who made me thinkg about the terminology, and I've tried to use the terms "neuromajority" and "neurominority" instead of "neurotypical" and "neurodivergent" ever since.

[@lexib671]

Love your reflection here. Well said ❤

[@ToxicHorsePucky]

Ok but “I have gay” would be a pretty fun way to introduce oneself

[@adama7774]

How does one catch the gay? Is it through cooties, or from watching musicals? Can it be cured with antibiotics?

[@heatherfeathers7789]

@@fintuxthat’s a really interesting point about neurodivergent. I have ADHD and so do many of the people I talk to regularly. When we use the term neurotypical, I tend to think of it as negative because we’re frequently expressing frustration. I read it as “Ugh, how typical! 🙄” with a sort of disgusted tone. And because of that I think of neurodivergent as positive because it’s an alternative. We usually use “neurospicy” or I say “neuroeccentric” because I consider eccentricity to be an expression of self that people only find bad if they have a limited view. But I’m definitely going to remember what you said and think about who I’m talking to when I pick the term I use.

[@KathrynsRavens]

I don't carry autism around with me in a briefcase.

[@tihana13]

Love this!

[@faeriesmak]

That actually sounds like fun...sort of like the suitcase that Newt Scamander carries around in Fantastic Beasts.

[@RAHelllord]

Why not? What else would you even use that briefcase for?

[@adama7774]

I do... i have a satchel with a removable strap that makes it a briefcase, and ive always got a bunch of fidgets, loop earplugs, noise cancelling earbuds, sunglasses and other essentials in there

[@Baptized_in_Fire.]

I do lol

[@roxyndra]

“I am a person who happens to be _” is the language we use when explaining to people without empathy that we’re still people. “I’m a _ person” owns it and anyone who cares will get it the first time. It’s a good gauge.

[@natorousab]

I am cancerous. Not really I just really wanted to complete his analogy 😂

[@TheCloverAffiliate12]

Glad I'm not the only one that thought this 😅

[@ClaraDarko]

Thank you for your work, Jeremy! As for me: I am autistic, I am a mother, I am a gender non conforming human being, I am a film lover, I am many things and I am valid!

[@hodgeh]

I am Autistic/ have Autism and I really don't mind the language itself either way. What matters to me is way those words are intended to be received by the audience. Context is everything. Thank you for explaining what the concensus of preference is among the community

[@scobeymeister1]

I remember learning how to say "I'm hungry" in French and being fascinated by how it's phrased, literally "I have hunger." It sounds super weird in English but it does make sense given how hunger is (ideally) a temporary state. Being autistic is not temporary, and in English, phrasing it as "I have autism", to me sounds like I'm looking not to have autism any more, as if it's a disease. Even before I realized I was autistic, that phrasing weirded me out. It's part of me. It's not something I have. It's something I am. I will say, I don't love being referred to as "an autistic," in much the same way I don't like being called "a gay" or "a transgender" - I've been called enough slurs in my life that it's a little too close for comfort. I am gay, and transgender, and autistic. The addition of an article, without acknowledgement of personhood, is too far for me. It's dehumanizing. If an outsider calls me that, I *will* be unhappy about it. Insightful as always, thanks for making this 😊

[@michaelfreydberg4619]

As I get more comfortable with myself I’ve been using identity first language.

[@Madame_Rose]

As someone who works really hard to say specifically what I mean to negate confusion, this helps me feel less odd about it. Being specific with our language is helpful and a part of neurodiverse thinking.

[@shockwave4742]

It's taken me years to consider the possibility that I might be autistic, and the fact that for years, Asperger's was considered a valid diagnosis, made it take even longer. The fact that I'm as high-functioning as I am seemed to separate me from the autistic community, and with Asperger's no longer being a diagnosis, what's left seems to be autism. Davis identifying as autistic has actually helped me in my journey to accepting the autism label, because in some ways he's even more high-functioning than I am.

[@Baptized_in_Fire.]

I think higher masking is more accurate than higher functioning.

[@shockwave4742]

@@Baptized_in_Fire. Yeah, maybe. We all have our tricks we do to try and assimilate.

[@franklehouillier8865]

About when the switch happened between DSM-IV and DSM-V, a lot of people began to use "on the spectrum" rather than "ASD". People who were used to DSM-IV were used to distinguishing between aspergers, PDD-NOS, and autism. In particular, many people were reluctant to go from being categorized (by themselves or others) as being an aspie to being autistic and so disliked using the word "autistic" when they had an ASD diagnosis. For a while, I think we just used "ASD" rather than "autism" but that includes the notion of "disorder" which, as you point out is problematic. At least some people were using "On the spectrum" as a way of saying "ASD" without either saying "disorder" or identifying themselves or others as "autistic" and thereby abandoning the aspergers/aspie identity. I guess I'm glad that the prescribed language use has moved on from this attempt to distinguish between aspergers and autism, as it always kind of had the flavor of ablism, but the original choice to use "on the spectrum" that was happening around 2013 wasn't necessarily driven by the desire to use a euphemism so much as to preserve the aspie identity as distinguished from autistic. At least this was my experience at the time.

[@frigginsane]

I was diagnosed "Aspergers" back when DSM-IV was current. Within the same year, maybe even the day of my Dx, I understood Aspergers was a form of autism, Aspergers being a category, a variant of autism, much like a truck is a type of vehicle, but not all vehicles are trucks. After the DSm-5 came out, my language transitioning from calling myself an Aspie to autistic was easy for me personally. What was more difficult than the language change is being denied what I needed when people assumed "aspergers" was removed from the DSM completely, instead of what really happened is Aspergers was merged into the autism category, which Aspergers was always a form of Autism since DSM-IV was new. I do get frustrated at the language changes. I wish them doctors would stick with a term and stop intimidating me to change my language again. Language is diffuclt enough as it is, at least in my experience. I like story sharing. I thank you for sharing your experience with the world.

[@scottdrury7404]

I usually say “I’m autistic”. Occasionally, I will say “I’m an autistic person”, to emphasize that autistics are people, too. I have said “I have an autistic brain”, when people were trying to project their perception of autistics as being some kind of freaks of nature onto me.

[@Franimus]

Thank you for this very concise and direct lesson on the lingo. I'm newly diagnosed and I've been trying to figure some of this out. I think the consideration of "autistic" vs "with autism" primarily depends on the context of whether you want to stress identity ("stop trying to cure me") versus empathy ("I'm a person too")

[@R_A_Z_U]

Completely off topic but i have to say your voice is extremely pleasant to listen to. It's never grating and I love how you phrase and word yourself. You deliver the information so concisely. Thank you very much for spreading and sharing this information. From one autistic person to another, thank you so much.

[@Jorge.ALXNDR]

Talking further about language, I prefer to say that _I'm autistic_ in english, but in brazilian I rather say _I have autism_ (eu tenho autismo) because it sounds more proper and less like a bad thing. _Eu sou autista_ (I'm autistic) sounds like I am saying I'm some type of clown.

[@ozok17]

an example of the sort of cultural nuance that means the difference between fluency and knowing only the basics of a language. good translation involves awareness of context, as you describe, which is fun to hear about. thank you for describing!

[@firiel2366]

I was wondering about this. I'm learning French (as an English speaker) and the way they use adjectives and other identifying words can be pretty different. Like they say "I have hunger," where in English we'd say "I am hungry." Or they say "I am doctor" where we'd say "I am A doctor." So I was wondering if the "I'm autistic/I have autism" thing would be different for french speakers.

[@mjolnir3309]

While normally i would consider a lot of this overcomplicating the situation, even though i agree that proper phrasing and terminology is important, autism just seems like the right place to have a specific set of clear terms that cover as many situations as possible. 😉

[@GhostIntoTheFog]

Right on the money, and you made an extremely important point at the end when encouraging people to default to identity-first language when talking generally about our community. I constantly see allistic people switch between identity-first, person-first and euphemistic language because they claim they want to honor all preferences. That is actually extraordinarily disrespectful. I don’t care what the minority of Autistics who are afraid to use the word “Autistic” think. They’ve been outvoted. It’s fine to honor individual preferences. It is not fine to ignore the strong majority preference when speaking generally. Also, good point about about the difference between “Autistic community” and “autism community.” The latter is usually a way for martyr parents, ABA practitioners and other assorted bigots to crown themselves honorary Autistics and speak over us.

[@coor0kun]

As someone diagnosed as ADHD as a child, this is a recent shift in language and I'm fascinated to see its evolution! Personally, I still typically use person first for myself, mainly out of habit, but I was taught that it was like "I have brown eyes" and it was simply a feature that made me uniquely me, not my primary trait.

[@scriptorpaulina]

I get that, but I prefer to get my disability accommodations, and that does tend to involve having a disorder

[@TheCloverAffiliate12]

Naturally. Tangentially related, I watched the relatively recent Jubilee Middle Ground video with autistic people and others who had been immersed in the autism community, and one response to the prompt of seeing autism as a disability or not really resonated with me and had me thinking about this. I disagree with the _prompt_ of autism being a disability in the context of socioeconomic structures, as they're set up in such a way that autistic people can't thrive in at a base. At the same time, the structures still exist at this point in time, and many autistic people are still debilitated to the point that they can't meet their needs within said structures without aid. So it depends on which lens you're looking at the matter through: the more ideal and future-paced lens, or the more realistic and present lens. I feel like there's something I have to clarify about my point-something about disability in socioeconomic structures vs. disability in general/overall-but I can't formulate a coherent thought around it at the moment. In the meantime, I hope my comment is taken as well as I actually intended it.

[@ellies6563]

It’s so nice to hear someone say my beliefs so much more eloquently than I can. I keep sharing your vids to people I’ve tried to explain my perspective to. 🙏

[@TheDeanKids]

I greatly appreciate you expressing this.Because I am newly aware of my autism and I am still in that weird space between. I 100% agree that the framework for Neurodiversities needs to be adjusted severely.

[@CreativIntro]

I'm ASD/ADHD and I like my brain despite it being in the neurological minority. I just think of it like hair color. Even though black is the most common hair color in the world, my hair color is not described as blonde spectrum disorder, it's just blonde and my brain is just my brain. However, I have intentionally made people with ableism uncomfortable telling them I have the autism. Social cues and all that, I guess.

[@mellennia9]

Im AuDHD as fuck and proud of it.

[@GhostIntoTheFog]

Right on, neurokin!

[@user-zt3em9gv7s]

I'm autistic and I have shortness...

[@StormTheSquid]

I'm in the camp of "they mean the same thing so what's the difference?" I don't care if I'm referred to as an autistic person or a person with autism because they're the same thing, they both describe me in exactly the same way and i don't personally understand how or why there might be a difference. I've had it explained to me but my brain just goes "That's the same thing, though?"

[@jeremyandrewdavis]

Many ppl use person first language in an ableist way to mean that we are separate from our autism and that our autism should be removed from us if possible.

[@nickmatthaes5344]

I feel the identity first language distinction is generational. In addition to having autism I have worked assisting autistic adults for almost 30 years. From my experience (I know anecdote isn't great evidence) autistic gen z adults almost exclusively use identity first language along with a majority of autistic millenial, but gen xers with autism don't. While I understand the philosophy behind it, I vacillate on it because it syntactically sounds sour depending on its context.

[@Strega_del_Corvo]

I’m autistic and use “on the spectrum” for that exact reason. I get so irritated when I say I am autistic and people act uncomfortable or treat me differently. 🙄 Should I stop? Maybe, but it softens the blow for neurotypicals and sometimes I just don’t want to deal with their reaction on top of everything else.

[@OurHourglass]

From the first part of the video, I'd like to add that cancer survivors say, "I am a cancer survivor," not "I had cancer."

[@luiztosk]

I'm new to all this and really needed more clarity on the issues of support and identity. Thank you for all the info you bring!

[@throckmorton9006]

I've never really had in issue with the name autism spectrum disorder. I think it's worse when they say autism spectrum condition. Condition makes it feel like I'm sick, whereas disorder feels more like saying "it works a bit differently but so what"

[@Rissa_1322]

There's no me without the autism, if I didn't have these experiences I would be a different person and that's that.

[@Alligatordanger]

This was such a clear and respectful explanation, thank you!

[@frigginsane]

I am autistic. I have meltdowns. I am an adult. I have hair. This video sounds agreeable to me.

[@user-qt5nw6ot9e]

This is a very good video about what language to use when speaking about autism and autistic people. However, what about the actual language of autism and autistic people themselves? One of the biggest problems (and maybe even THE biggest problem) that autistic people experience - myself included - is not being understood by many if not most allistic people. Just like we need to understand their words and behaviors, they also need to understand ours for the communication gap to be bridged. This is exactly what my upcoming KZbin channel will address. ☺

[@raw_bin]

I had two friends tell me "i think i might be on the spectrum", so I feel like people might be also using it as a euphemism for their own sake, since it does bear a little less impact

[@seajelly2421]

This video is so well written. It would make for a very useful educational resource. The title of the video is not very clear or accurate, however, in identifying this important content for potential viewers. It's not a language video. It is a critical disability video, among other things. Please fix?

[@corrina1963]

thanks this was super helpful + informative

[@daminox]

I hear this "disease" comparison a lot when it comes to this topic and one thing i ask is: Should i be saying "I have blonde hair" or "i am blonde haired"? My hair isnt a disease nor is it something i dont want. So... i guess we should be saying "i am blonde haired"? Has mankind been saying it wrong this whole time? What about my fingers? Should i be saying "i am 10-fingered"? Personally i dont care whether someone identifies as having autism or being autistic. We autistics shouldnt be tone policing each other and forcing each other to identify one way or the other. We have enough mental health problems as it is, so do we really need strangers online and irl telling us how we should identify ourselves? Isnt that something that only i can decide? When i was first told i was "wrong" to say i have autism i felt bad. As someone who was happy to have finally been diagnosed just recently i felt like i had already offended the very community i had sought for support. I felt awful. I already struggle with major depressive disorder and being told i'm offending millions of other autistic persons by choosing how i want to identify made me feel like a terrible person. For what? To whose benefit? Is it for us, to make each other feel better? Or is it a strategy to get allistics to treat us as people and not diseases? The latter, right? So... we're doing it to cater to allistics who dont understand autism? Why do *we* have to change how we talk if it's allistics who are ignorant and refuse to learn? No, i'm not ashamed to have autism. It really is a part of me. But if i want to say "i have autism" then i'll say it. And at this point a big reason i say it that way is to spite people who think they can police how other people choose to identify themselves. I've seen autistic people on reddit publicly shame those who had only just been diagnosed and had just joined the autistic commumity simply because they didnt identify themselves the "correct" way. It makes me feel bad to be a part of a community that tells others "you shouldnt identify yourself that way." We shouldnt police trans people on how they identify themselves, so why are we policing autistic people? As autistic people dont we already have bigger problems to deal with in our lives than this petty nonsense? Stop shaming your fellow autistic people and instead make them feel welcome in the autistic community. Shaming and ostracizing each other over this insignificant choice of words isn't helping.

[@ter2364]

i used to say 'mental disorder' cuz i thought it felt less offputting than 'mental illness' cuz they definitely have different weights to it, but its somewhat the same thing if one thinks about it a lot both are something 'wrong', but one can be considered disruptive in how a person behaves, vs how one can be considered disruptive in a mortality sense ...havent ever seen the term of illness as referring to something like depression though, maybe with how it can truly inhibit One to be able to do anything at all, even if they tried, but im probably reaching a bit with that specific portion of words

[@a..rch1v3]

is it bad that i sometimes accidentally say "i'm someone that has autism"? i'm trying to switch to "i'm autistic" but sometimes it just naturally hardwires in my brain to say "i have autism" because ive been so used to saying that 😭🙏

[@justaguy4311]

fuck. youtube knows me too well that its diagnosing me now

[@CyraNoavek]

How do you feel about increasing the use of the term Allistic to refer to people who are not autistic? I think calling them "neurotypical" gives away too much ground. Typical is too easily translated as normal. Whereas if the terms are "Autistic" and "Allistic" then the two appear more on equal footing.

[@lexib671]

PS you could be ADHD and not autistic. That would make you allistic but not neurotypical

[@ozok17]

@@lexib671i want there to be a term for someone who doesn't have (experience? exhibit? identify with?) traits of ADHD, similar to how non-Autistics are Allistic. Maybe there already is such a term, but dunno how to find it (other than, i guess, ask random places, and/or wait until i encounter it).

[@Franimus]

Why not just "non-autistics" or "non-adhd"? allistic isn't even a real word, autocorrect wants to add a 'b' in front of it

[@StormTheSquid]

​@@FranimusAnd you're not even a real person, just a made up name on a screen. All words are made up, dingus. What's your point?

[@Franimus]

@@StormTheSquid your mom made up a lot of words last night, not all of them pleasant

[@gbdchannel2252]

So NTs can say " I have typicalness."

[@shanematthews1985]

Eh, I would definitely cure myself of it if I could so that wording does still work

[@JohnNathanShopper]

I can say this bc I’m an autistic, but isn’t it ironic that even making this distinction in terms is the most perfectly autistic thing to do? (I don’t have internalized ableism at all.🤪)

[@kdeuler]

Very interesting vid. There are a couple things that i’d be grateful if someone could clarify… About use of the term “spectrum”. As a neurotypical person, I’ve always thought that “spectrum” simply reflects the fact that among autistics, there is a range of abilities to function on their own. Is it acceptable to use the terms “high functioning” and “low functioning”. I’ve heard some say that you are either autistic or you aren’t. If you are autistic, does that mean that you check a minimum number of boxes in that DM5 guide? And if too few boxes are checked, are you then NOT autistic, and merely subclinical? Thanks.

[@jeremyandrewdavis]

Functioning labels are harmful and inherently ableist. We prefer "support needs." high support needs and low support needs. That said, "spectrum" does not reference intensity of autism any more that green would be considered "more" of a color than blue. spectrum refers to the various combinations of traits of autism and that no two autistic people are the same.

[@WPVanHeerden]

Any problem if I refer to myself as an Autist? I did have a diagnosis.

[@jeremyandrewdavis]

That works!

[@maxkozak9702]

As a person with autism myself, I have to say this distinction does not matter and it just making an issue out of something that never was one. The two things are equivalent just like how some people call hot chips fries and some people call them chips. It’s not an issue, so stop making it one.

[@GhostIntoTheFog]

It does matter. “Autistic” respects my neurodivergent identity, while “person with autism” is a pathologizing insult. You’re free to disagree, but you’ve been outvoted by the vast majority of your neurokin.

[@Franimus]

It's subtle but it does matter overall. For example there was a study/survey showing that people had very different reactions when asked about "cyclists" versus "people on bicycles". In that case IIRC I think people were more empathetic to the latter.

[@StormTheSquid]

I personally agree with this. The meaning is the same. Why make a pointless distinction? It's like the distinction between "flammable" and "inflammable", using different words for the same thing. I'm in favor of people picking one or the other if only for the sake of consistency and clarity.

[@StormTheSquid]

​@@GhostIntoTheFogI don't see how "person with autism" is pathologizing or an insult. It's just a fact, no? I'm autistic. I have autism. I have a diagnosis of autism. These all mean the same thing to me, I genuinely don't understand why anyone would see them as different. Is it some kind of implications or connotation derived from some kind of social rules or something? If so, I'll never understand it. I don't get implications at all. If something isn't overtly stated, all it does is cause confusion. If you're trying to insult someone, why be vague and indirect about it and leave the possibility for them to take it neutrally, or even as a compliment? That just doesn't make sense to me.

[@maxkozak9702]

@@GhostIntoTheFog I get the idea of autistic pedanticism because I do that too, but you are making a mountain out of a molehill. It's only an insult because you're seeing it as such ohh stop you are arguing semantics, what's the point? If you don't want to see person with autism as a pathologizing insult just see it as a grammatical difference. Offence is in the eye of the beholder, and this is petty even by semantic argument standards. This is not an issue, stop making it 1. If you don't want to be offended by person with autism, then just don't see it any differently. Do you think most neurotypicals or non autistic neurodivergents see or even know the difference between those? I do like the word" neurokin" though, I'm going to use it. The only reason I would use autistic person over a person with autism is because the latter is slightly clunkier to say. To me it sounds like the equivalent of being offended because of what would be a cultural or regional linguistic difference like how chips are called different things in different parts of the anglosphere. This is as benign as that, so I don't understand why the autism community thinks it's offensive.

[@LifeontheBush]

Oh I thought this was a video showing me how to have a conversation with a nerotypical. 😅

[@RilianSharp]

tallness isn't in your brain, it's not part of your personality or personhood. my body is tall, i'm not tall. the phrases "person first" and "identity first" don't make sense because in "i am autistic", i am mentioning the person first "i". and in "people who are autistic", people comes first. it's actually adjective vs noun. i am my brain, so adjective makes more sense to me.

[@jeremyandrewdavis]

The descriptors are confusing. Person first refers to the descriptor when used like this "I am a person WITH autism." The 'person' in this sentence diagram comes first (it doesn't refer to the 'I' in the statement). Identity-first language is "I am an autistic person." The identity "autistic" comes before the word "person." hope that helps.

[@RilianSharp]

@@jeremyandrewdavis thanks but i know what is intended and i'm critiquing that paradigm.

[@SteinGauslaaStrindhaug]

If a neurotypical don't get it; try referring to them as a person with neurotypicalism for a while 😁

[@hannahowen1801]

How about ADHD? I often find myself using the term ADHDer, but that just doesnt feel quite right

[@GhostIntoTheFog]

I use ADHDer (and AuDHDer), too, but you’re right that it can get awkward (and I’d never consider calling myself an ASDer as opposed to Autistic). Since I think both neurotypes are on the same spectrum, a sort of pan-Autistic identity might be the way forward.

[@casualcrisp]

Spanish

[@Franimus]

Que

[@billiepotts1541]

this

[@cell172]

I don't really like the disease argument. I am autistic and I am diabetic (t1). I'm not an autist with diabetes. The vast majority of diabetics I know agree that we prefer for our diabetes to be referred to in an identity first manor. It's weird to hear autists get upset about this issue and then immediately get it so wrong when referring to another group.

[@jeremyandrewdavis]

Language is weird and the rules aren't uniform. I'm sharing the conversations being had around it.

[@amypola5903]

Yeah but what if it could be cured? Liver clease...when my liver is clogged up, I know because I know what foods I ate, and I suddenly can't handle stress, and have to put the ticking clock in the other room before I die. Thats my liver unable to filter out excess cortisol, as it should be able to. Also magnesium repairs DNA. Maybe not cure, but some things might be alleviated. I know it can.

[@Franimus]

It's like saying what if stupidity could be cured. You're talking about the way a brain is wired, not a French fry being stuck in there.

[@myhumansuit]

I'm autistic and I still use stigmas that I have learned about autism and I try not to and I will correct myself but I also don't want to walk on eggshells either. And some of these videos on how we should be speaking to represent our community make me not even want to speak sometimes. Just saying. 🩵

[@GhostIntoTheFog]

These internal debates and discussions are necessary to advance Autistic culture. Like all communities, we get to decide what language is most affirming and meaningful to us. If you’d rather opt out of the conversation, that’s your choice.

[@Franimus]

You'd hopefully be doing the same thing with other negative thinking, which is a spiral very difficult to break out of. It takes a lot of persistence to change your language so that your own brain, as well as those around you, change perspective.