"autistic" memes

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I've seen a lot of meme pages on Facebook lately which describe themselves as "autistic" due to the antisocial attitudes and distorted aesthetics they display. I want to know if the appropriation of autism or any other mental condition offends anyone here. Personally it doesn't offend me because "autism" as an noun and autism as a neurological condition are two different things, that and unlike other frequently glamourised conditions such as depression, autism doesn't carry such a negative stigma. I'm even the admin of an "autistic" Facebook meme page myself called the Assburgers Spectrum Society, with some of the members themselves being on the spectrum.

Does the word "autistic" being used gratuitously offend you? Do you find its use as derogatory as the word "ret*d"? I have little to no sensitivity for these things so it doesn't affect me but what about you?

I think there's some what more of a stigma when one refers to a person as autistic vs a person with autism I know both are used interchangeably The only time that I would perhaps get offended by a meme is if it had a picture of adam lanza or james holmes because it's like saying people with aspergers will kill you or autistic people are cold blooded killers

I find the derogatory use of the word 'autistic' incredibly offensive.

If someone used autistic as an insult while talking to me I'd take that as a signal that the standards of the conversation had fallen so low that I could say whatever I want without insulting them. I'd test this idea with a number of oedipal and scatological statements, dropping F-bombs like the American military, until I'd managed to offend them as much as they'd offended me. Than I'd conclude by saying something really clever before strutting away, because this is a hypothetical scenario and those always end the way I want. Obviously this wouldn't work with internet trolls.

You should be aware of these context in which your memes exist. You and your friends might be aware that your memes are intended ironically and relate to them in a self-depreciating way, but an outsider could mistake them as representations of autism that are only slightly exaggerated. It's no secret that autistics are marginalized and practically persecuted by their peers in schools. You shouldn't provide those bullies with even more weapons by spreading autistic memes. Autism has loads of negative stigma, don't spread it.

<--- Very insulted and offended.

Words serve a valuable purpose and that is providing us with a valuable set of markers and anchors to guide us through reality.

Assburger reality cheapens a neurological condition that people have real experience of.

People use terms like "genius" or "Eisenstein" as an insult. I have cognitive impairments and learning disabilities. So someone could call me "genius" as an insult. Like "way to go genius". But when a friend on a forum used to call me "Little Eisenstein" he meant it as a complement. Many NT's have referred to me as autistic, but not as an insult and I have not taken it that way. An insult is an insult, whatever word one uses.

The OP was referrering to people referring to themselves as autistic.

Like any colloquial use of scientific or technical terminology it causes misinformation, gets only the partial meaning of what the term used to mean when it was a technical, scientific term.

The colloquial use of autism for the most part means a ret*d person who requires 24 hours a seven days a week care, or a socially ackward genius. The colloquial use of the Autism for the most part is only concerned with social abiltiies and presentation. Executive Functioning difficulties, sensory sensitivities, and non overtly physical repetitive behavoir often does not exist in colloquial Autism.

The role of bieng bieng Autistic in a non-autistic world usually does not exist in the colloquial or disgnostic use of Autism.

Yep. Much like how many people's only experience with OCD is pop-culture, so they use the term to describe any attribute of theirs where they are more precise or perfectionist than what they perceive to be "correct" based on other people's behavior.

While I don't get overly offended by that usage, I try to correct them whenever possible because the pop-culture references are incomplete and/or simply inaccurate. Otherwise we risk becoming a one-dimensional cartoon rather than individuals with varying abilities, challenges, experiences, etc..

Now, if someone uses those same terms in a clearly derogatory (sarcastic/ironic/facetious) way, I do get offended. But then, they seem to be able to use *any* word in a derogatory way so it's nothing special to autistic / autism / aspie / aspergers, IMO.