POLL Autistic Child or Child with Autism - or I don't care

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Do you prefer being called
Autistic Child 31%  31%  [ 16 ]
Child with Autism 14%  14%  [ 7 ]
I don't care 55%  55%  [ 28 ]
Total votes : 51

fluffysaurus
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20 Feb 2018, 5:12 pm

Sorrend wrote:
AspieUtah wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
As long as you don't say "autist"!

YUCK!


Logically an "autist" would be someone who "does" autism on purpose as a profession.

Merriam-Webster, the "American dictionary" offers "autist" as a noun ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autist ), and "autistic" as an adjective ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autistic ).

Therefore, I call myself an "autist" who is "autistic" because I exhibit evidence of "autism."


My God. I have never heard someone say "autist" before.

It's similar to how people with British accents say "artist!"
No it isn't, it's how an American might say it if they were doing a very bad impersonation of what they thought English aristocrats sound like.



Lintar
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20 Feb 2018, 6:02 pm

Child (and adult) WITH autism. Why should we allow ourselves to be defined by something like this? We are much more than just "autism", but saying that that is who you are by using the expression "autistic child/adult" gives people the impression that you allow yourself to be dictated by it, that you wouldn't be the same person without it. It's silly.



Lintar
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20 Feb 2018, 6:06 pm

fluffysaurus wrote:
Sorrend wrote:
AspieUtah wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
As long as you don't say "autist"!

YUCK!


Logically an "autist" would be someone who "does" autism on purpose as a profession.

Merriam-Webster, the "American dictionary" offers "autist" as a noun ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autist ), and "autistic" as an adjective ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autistic ).

Therefore, I call myself an "autist" who is "autistic" because I exhibit evidence of "autism."


My God. I have never heard someone say "autist" before.

It's similar to how people with British accents say "artist!"
No it isn't, it's how an American might say it if they were doing a very bad impersonation of what they thought English aristocrats sound like.


Yes, and I've noticed many Americans also seem to think that there is no difference between an Australian and New Zealand accent, often confusing the two. Example: we (Australians) do NOT pronounce the word "thick" as "thuck". New Zealanders do. We also do not use the word "mate" in every sentence we utter (I don't use the word at all, ever). There are too many stereotypes out there.



Sorrend
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20 Feb 2018, 6:22 pm

fluffysaurus wrote:
Sorrend wrote:
AspieUtah wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
As long as you don't say "autist"!

YUCK!


Logically an "autist" would be someone who "does" autism on purpose as a profession.

Merriam-Webster, the "American dictionary" offers "autist" as a noun ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autist ), and "autistic" as an adjective ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autistic ).

Therefore, I call myself an "autist" who is "autistic" because I exhibit evidence of "autism."


My God. I have never heard someone say "autist" before.

It's similar to how people with British accents say "artist!"
No it isn't, it's how an American might say it if they were doing a very bad impersonation of what they thought English aristocrats sound like.


Haha! That's a better way of describing it!


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TheAP
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20 Feb 2018, 6:37 pm

Lintar wrote:
Child (and adult) WITH autism. Why should we allow ourselves to be defined by something like this? We are much more than just "autism", but saying that that is who you are by using the expression "autistic child/adult" gives people the impression that you allow yourself to be dictated by it, that you wouldn't be the same person without it. It's silly.

If someone described themselves as a "blonde girl", would you say she was letting herself be dictated by her blondness? Using adjectives doesn't imply that that is the only characteristic the noun has.

I use both, and I don't care which people use. It's not something I really notice. But I don't like the insistence on person-first language.



Lintar
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20 Feb 2018, 7:48 pm

TheAP wrote:
Lintar wrote:
Child (and adult) WITH autism. Why should we allow ourselves to be defined by something like this? We are much more than just "autism", but saying that that is who you are by using the expression "autistic child/adult" gives people the impression that you allow yourself to be dictated by it, that you wouldn't be the same person without it. It's silly.

If someone described themselves as a "blonde girl", would you say she was letting herself be dictated by her blondness? Using adjectives doesn't imply that that is the only characteristic the noun has.

I use both, and I don't care which people use. It's not something I really notice. But I don't like the insistence on person-first language.


This argument again. No, having blonde hair (or, as you prefer, "being a blonde girl") is not the same thing as autism, for a number of reasons. For one thing, a person can easily change their hair colour. There is also not the stigma attached to people who have blonde hair and, what's more, people who have blonde hair are not in any way, shape or form, socially handicapped. You simply cannot equate the two. People don't say, "You better watch that girl over there, she might commit a school shooting, because she has - the horror! - blonde hair!"

Now, not for one moment am I in any way suggesting that it is more likely that someone with autism will commit an atrocity (we're actually less likely to), but that doesn't alter the fact that there are many ignorant people out there who really do believe that we are dangerous. Yes, they themselves are to blame for their own stupidity and ignorance, but what can you do?



TheAP
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20 Feb 2018, 7:57 pm

Lintar wrote:
This argument again. No, having blonde hair (or, as you prefer, "being a blonde girl") is not the same thing as autism, for a number of reasons. For one thing, a person can easily change their hair colour. There is also not the stigma attached to people who have blonde hair and, what's more, people who have blonde hair are not in any way, shape or form, socially handicapped. You simply cannot equate the two. People don't say, "You better watch that girl over there, she might commit a school shooting, because she has - the horror! - blonde hair!"

Now, not for one moment am I in any way suggesting that it is more likely that someone with autism will commit an atrocity (we're actually less likely to), but that doesn't alter the fact that there are many ignorant people out there who really do believe that we are dangerous. Yes, they themselves are to blame for their own stupidity and ignorance, but what can you do?

How will saying "person with autism" instead of "autistic person" reduce the stigma against autism?



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20 Feb 2018, 9:24 pm

Personally, I don't care if I'm called "autistic" or "someone with autism" - both are true. It is a part of who I am, but not all of who I am. I tend to say I'm autistic by default, but I don't care how others phrase it. However, I am irritated that the only options are "autistic child" or "child with autism." I'm 25 years old, and no less autistic than I was as a kid. I hate society's idea that we're miraculously cured or just disappear once we're out of school. It's so much harder to get assistance and support after then, because society seems to think autistic adults don't exist.


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20 Feb 2018, 9:28 pm

dragonsanddemons wrote:
Personally, I don't care if I'm called "autistic" or "someone with autism" - both are true. It is a part of who I am, but not all of who I am. I tend to say I'm autistic by default, but I don't care how others phrase it. However, I am irritated that the only options are "autistic child" or "child with autism." I'm 25 years old, and no less autistic than I was as a kid. I hate society's idea that we're miraculously cured or just disappear once we're out of school. It's so much harder to get assistance and support after then, because society seems to think autistic adults don't exist.


I really thought about editing this after I posted it to "Autistic Person or Person with Autism" because I myself am nearly an adult!

However, I thought it would compromise the poll, and my thought was based on an article I read about a young boy. It just sort of materialized as "child" rather than "adult" or "person."

Sorry for any distress this has caused.


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dragonsanddemons
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20 Feb 2018, 10:04 pm

Sorrend wrote:
dragonsanddemons wrote:
Personally, I don't care if I'm called "autistic" or "someone with autism" - both are true. It is a part of who I am, but not all of who I am. I tend to say I'm autistic by default, but I don't care how others phrase it. However, I am irritated that the only options are "autistic child" or "child with autism." I'm 25 years old, and no less autistic than I was as a kid. I hate society's idea that we're miraculously cured or just disappear once we're out of school. It's so much harder to get assistance and support after then, because society seems to think autistic adults don't exist.


I really thought about editing this after I posted it to "Autistic Person or Person with Autism" because I myself am nearly an adult!

However, I thought it would compromise the poll, and my thought was based on an article I read about a young boy. It just sort of materialized as "child" rather than "adult" or "person."

Sorry for any distress this has caused.


That's all right, it's really how hard it is to get assistance as an adult that upsets me - that just reminded me of it. It's fine :)


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naturalplastic
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20 Feb 2018, 10:17 pm

The thinking is that "person first" is better because condition first defines the person by their condition.

A couple of folks on WP strongly believed in that awhile back the last time we had this debate.

One of the many problems with that though is that there are OTHER folks who get upside when you say "person with autism" because "it makes it sound like I have a disease!! !".

So you're stepping on toes and not being a PC enough for SOME sensitive soul either way!

"Autistic? How DARE you define me by my condition!"

"Person with autism?????? HOW DARE YOU make it sound like my autism is some kinda sickness!! !"

Myself. Aspie is okay. You wouldnt call me a "person with maleness", or "a person with Americanness" or "a person with Grand Old Partyness" nor a "person with Democratic Partyness" So why call me "a person with autism"?



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20 Feb 2018, 10:19 pm

I wish I could call myself an Aspie----but I'm not one. Because I had a severe speech delay.



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20 Feb 2018, 11:14 pm

I am autistic the same way someone with diabetes is diabetic. It's an intrinsic part of who I am. People do not say 'person with diabetes' and none of the diabetics I know have ever expressed feelings of being diminished or defined by being called diabetic. I think sometimes we may be a little overly sensitive.


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20 Feb 2018, 11:26 pm

It's kind of weird to be posting on my on post, but who cares.

Sometimes I take this whole concept very literally and see it as a grammar thing, so when people talk about it all I can think of is:

Autistic Person (Makes sense)
Diabetic Person (Makes sense)
Blonde Person (Makes sense)
Cancerous Person? (A person with cancer?)
Lyme-diseased Person? (A person with lyme-disease?)
A quadriplegic (Makes sense)
A quadriplegic-ed person?

Grammar is funny


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Wolfram87
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21 Feb 2018, 5:40 am

None of the above.

Kneel Before the Sperglord!


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SaveFerris
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21 Feb 2018, 6:14 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
I wish I could call myself an Aspie----but I'm not one. Because I had a severe speech delay.


I'll never be an Aspie as I have ASD , calling myself an Aspie is medically incorrect but I like the term sperg ( for myself only ) so clearly I don't like the word Aspie but don't know why :roll:


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