What is the difference between an Autist and an Autistic?

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I want to know because I see the term Autist around a lot.

"autist" is more disparaging.

The way a person chooses to self identify.

Autist sounds more elitist to me

Two letters: "I" and "C".

I put no value on these particular words, though the first one is less common i think.

There is no difference. They mean the same thing, to me.

An autist is more like an "oddist" - someone who paints pictures in Brooklyn.

They're both the same thing for me.

The two words mean the same gosh darn thing. No difference.

Both terms are used to mean "a person with autism".

However....

I use the word "autistic", and I NEVER use the word "autist". And here is why.

A person who studies art all of their lives and gets paid to do art as profession is an "artist". The same with someone who makes a profession out of science. They are a "scientist". Ditto someone who performs so called "magic" ( does illusions on stage). They are called an "illusionist". And so on.

So logically an "autist" would be "someone who gets paid to perform autism on command as a specialized craft, or profession". Unless you are NT who fakes your autism to get government assistance you dont get paid to perform autism.

So it doesnt make sense to call "a person with autism" an "autist". It makes more sense to call such a person an "autistic".

So "autist" just sounds dumb and illiterate. Or at least it does to me. "Autistic" sounds fine.

I don't like the term. As kraftiekortie said, it sounds elitist. The term glosses over something that causes pain for a lot of people.

I find autist more aggressive and less serious. I enjoy that term because it’s snappy and to the point. I often sarcastically call myself an autist online. Mainly to deiscredit the idea that I’m actually autistic.

"Autist" is a noun and "autistic" is an adjective. So "autist" technically describes what someone is and "autistic" describes how someone is.

The spelling.