Where did the term Aspie come from?

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I've been diagnosed with AS for about 7 years, and its only been recently that I've heard the term. A friend of mine from college told me she had AS, and pointed to this website. I signed up, and never really posted anything. So she asked me to post something, so here it is.

Why do people with AS refer to themselves as aspies, it seems degrading. With all of the misinformation and wrong representation AS gets it almost seems counter-productive to give ourselves a cute nickname for what could be considered by the majority as a mental illness.

I'll put it to you this way. Some great thinkers who had AS, also had other things that made them non NT, like skitzo-effective disorder, Leonardo DaVinci for one, but I don't think a person would tag themselves with a cute nickname like a "sktizy." Maybe its because autism is being shown in a better light, and has a more positive connotation than other things that make our brains act in a non-NT fashion (mental illness for those who don't want political correctness).

I'm someone who has AS, and I live with it, and live well with it, I just don't flaunt it, maybe I'm being a bit too cynical here.

Any response would be great.

Actually, some people with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder do call themselves "schitzos", both as a "cutesy nickname" and because it's a frak of a lot shorter than writing out the whole thing.

In a similar vein, "Aspie", an abbreviation derived from "Asperger", is a lot quicker and easier than writing out (or even saying) "person with Asperger's Syndrome". As for feeling "demeaned", how can one be demeaned by the name one chooses for oneself? The power lies in the choosing, not in the verbal label. If you choose not to call yourself Aspie. that's your right and your privilege - just as it is my right and privilege to claim the label "Aspie" for myself and others like me.

Downie=someone who has Down's syndrome
Deaffie=a deaf person
Old timers=someone who has Alzheimer's
Autie=an autistic person


Then there is aspie. That word was actually coined by an aspie, Laine Holliday Willey I think it was. I first saw that word in her book, Pretending to be Normal. If you don't like the word, don't use it on yourself but that doesn't mean the rest of us can't refer to ourselves as that. Only you speak for yourself.

The word Aspie was indeed coined by Liane Holliday Willey, in 1999 to be specific.

I don't have an issue with "Aspie" in print, although it sounds a little light and silly said aloud - still, it's preferable to Ass-Burgers, or for that matter ret*d (which is what most people think Autism means) any day of the week.

In conversational speech I tend to default to Aspergian as an adjective, rather than Aspie as a label.

In the long run, I think Aspie is better marketing than any other description I can think of, as it gives the impression of an exclusive group or club (even if we're considered a nerdish group like Trekkies and/or Trekkers).

Its far better than having people think of us as having a "mental illness" (though whether the term applies technically is debatable) which makes us sound threatening and potentially dangerous. People in general tend to carry the notion in the back of their minds that if you have any condition that can be described as 'illness' or 'disorder' that you're somehow contagious and untouchable.

Aside from the abbreviated term, I wouldn't classify it as a mental illness.

Is there another single-word that can be used in its place? It's awkward to have to use the entire phrase "person with Asperger's" all the time. "Aspie" can be used as a modifier, as in "that's probably one of my aspie traits." If the word "aspie" bothers people, I'd love to hear some possible alternatives.

Also, I like to shy away from the "with Asperger's" kind of talk unless I want to imply that the person (myself or someone else) has a condition. In my personal experience, my "aspie traits" are just part of who I am, and not something that is attached to an otherwise normal me. I yam what I yam, and it's nice to have a variety of descriptive words to talk about my experience. On top of that, since I've never been officially diagnosed, even the cumbersome phrase "person with Asperger's" has to become "person who may or may not have Asperger's." That get's tiresome.

I like "cat". Except I'm not physically limber like a cat, so that doesn't feel right either.

Person-First Language: http://autismaspergerssyndrome.suite101 ... and_autism

I don't agree with that attitude. Asperger's IS part of my identity.

I have a gender. I say that I "AM" a woman. I have an age, and I AM 53. I have ancestors from various countries, and I say that I AM part this and part that. I have opinions on religion and politics...

I do not consider Asperger's to be a disease. It's more a civil rights issue than a mental health issue.

I'm self-diagnosed. I tried a couple of times to get a diagnosis, then gave up. Since then I've heard of the mutant registration requirement, which is probably best avoided, and have decided that I don't want a formal diagnosis. It would serve no purpose at my age. I figure I'm the only one in here, and the only one who can really make a valid diagnosis anyway.

I see it just as affectionate. I never had a problem with it.

The pit of stupidity.

(Yes, not a fan of it over here.)

I like it. Like other people have said, it's easier and just seems to flow better when you say "Aspie" than "person with AS."