Autism 101

Autism and Language

There has been much debate over autism and language. While some groups of non-autistic people have long tried to push their preferences on autistic people, autistic speakers and essayists have chosen specific language to describe autism, language that we find empowering.

It can be hard to find reliable information. I have done a lot of research on this subject, and this essay distills all that research into about 1600 words. The limited size means that it's all a summary, so please don't hesitate to research further for a more in-depth perspective!

We say "autistic people," instead of "people with autism."

Why do I call myself autistic? The short answer is that I don't see autism as a horrifyingly negative thing.

Many autistics have written on why they prefer to be called "autistic," and the reasons they describe usually boil down to these:

* Autism is a part of them, and you cannot meaningfully separate them from their autism. Autism is a part of them, not an "evil brain slug" or a demon possessing a non-autistic person.

* Autism isn't demeaning, and it's not insulting to say that someone is autistic. We can say that people are gay, creative, fidgety, African-American, etc., so why would it be wrong to say that someone is autistic?

* It's how adjectives normally work.

This is the normal language preferred by most people in the Autistic community, so you will see autistic people and their loved ones using "autistic" as an ordinary adjective.

Search terms (in case you want to learn more): autism identity first language, autism IFL, autism person first language, autism PFL, autism identity first vs person first

No one is "high functioning" or "low functioning."

"The difference between high-functioning autism and low functioning is that high-functioning means your deficits are ignored, and low-functioning means your assets are ignored." Laura Tisoncik

Do you have a lot of skills? Or do you need help with things?

If you're an ordinary person, you'd probably say "Well, I'm capable of a lot of things, but I also really need help sometimes, and I don't want either of those minimized." And people would nod and smile and say "that's a good point."

But autistics are expected to only fit one of these descriptions. We can either do things, or need things. We can either be "high functioning" or "low functioning."

Nobody agrees on what exactly these labels mean, and different people could look at the same autistic person and choose different labels for them.

The label "high functioning" is often used to state that an autistic person is "almost normal." It can be used to dismiss an autistic person when they try to talk about autism, because people can say "Oh, you're high-functioning so you don't get it. Not like MY child, who will never be able to do anything useful." It can also be used to claim that an autistic person is superior to other autistic people, or to write off a person's needs. Other times, it's used to assure parents that their child isn't THAT autistic, unlike the awful useless autistics who will always be burdens. (Which I don't agree with.)

The label "low functioning" is often used to say that an autistic person is a hopeless cause. They may be told that they will never amount to anything, or that they are too stupid to understand what they are talking about (if they try to contradict a non-autistic person). Their abilities may be ignored, and they may be treated as if they are sleepwalking through life, unable to hear anything. The label "low functioning" can be used as an excuse to treat someone like they aren't a real person.