Autistic, Person with Autism, ASD - which do you prefer?

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Once again I'm seeing someone on another board insisting that we must be called "people with autism" rather than autistic. The amusing thing is it never seems to be an actual autistic person saying so!

I personally can't stand political correctness and "person with autism" is like nails on a chalk board to me. I also think autism is different from say diabetes or cancer, which are diseases and are separate from the person's identity. I'm not a person who happens to have autism, I'm a person who IS autistic/Aspergers and therefore it's part of my very personality and who I am.

Please take the poll and let's find out what the majority of us prefer.

I'm the first to vote!

I picked the first one because I AM autistic it's part of who i am like Shelby said

I prefer to be called "Orwell." (Well, not actually, but I'm not revealing my real name over the Internet)

In all seriousness, I would tend to agree with the sentiments expressed by Jim Sinclair in "Why I Dislike Person-First Language."

Oh thanks Orwell, that Jim Sinclair quote is exactly why we hate "person with autism." Awesome, thankyou.

I get confused with the word autism since autism looks different from HFA or aspergers. I'm so use to the word aspergers since it's under the spectrum of autism.

I don't know...maybe part of me is in denial about being somewhat autistic. I see too many crazy potrayals of children with autism.

I usually use the word aspergers...but ASD is another less embarassing word for me.

I prefer "autistic" cuz it's shorter to say than "person with autism"

I say I'm autistic. For starters it's easier to say and I do feel that it is a part of me.

I'd go with autism/autistic.

I'm with the majority; I prefer "autistic" because it's short and it can be either a noun or an adjective.

I prefer to say I'm on the autism spectrum. I still don't feel comfortable being called "autistic."

They say I have autism, so I go with that when I'm referring to the disorder that I have. I also have OCD. I also have AVNRT. Etcetera. Saying that I'm autistic is too narrow, as it/autistic only defines me in the ways that the disorder outlines; it's not my personality.

I don't mind people saying that I have autism, as Autistic Disorder is the official label that I have. I don't mind people saying that I have Asperger's if they define it as autism with a normal IQ and speech as an adult.

I chose on the spectrum.

On the spectrum just sounds so cool!

where is my aspie option i dont mid autistic though

In the presence of "insiders" presumed to be familiar with the concepts of the spectrum, I am autistic, speaking generally, or an Aspie, speaking more specifically. To a general audience, I am simply autistic. And PLEASE, never a "person with..." That is a full frontal assault on my language, my ears and my sensibilities!

As an aside, in the (rare) instance where more precision is needed and simply "autistic" will not suffice, I strongly prefer the British term "autistic spectrum condition" to the American term "autistic spectrum disorder".

Most people will have no idea what you are on about if you say 'hi I am on the spectrum'. which spectrum?

I have a thing against politically correct language, it causes unnecessary clutter and confusion