"Autistic person" vs "person with Autism"

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I disagree with those that think this is about semantics or words are trivial. Words and phrasing can be very powerful and affect change for good or for bad. I think person first language is bad.

You should keep in mind though that not everyone sees their Autism as a positive... we have posters here who are not fans of being on the spectrum and may want to convey that with other language.

I agree with vermontsavant it’s how the language is used that matters like anything.

If it’s to lump people into neat boxes and dump them there, then it’s not a great thing IMHO.

Also agree with Whale_tuune not everyone likes their autism and agrees with the whole let’s make an identity out of it.

Did you make a typo, and forget to proofread? Or did you mean it this way.

What many folks make a stink about is the opposite of what you said here that the class taught you. It is supposedly offensive to say "autistic", or "autistic person". And the supposed remedy is to say "person with autism". And there is a minority of folks on WP who passionately agree with that. Though I am not one of them. You can call me an aspie, or you can call me "a person with aspergers" (or sub "aspie" with "HFA"). It's all of the same to me. Its usually "person first is good". This is the first time ive heard that "person first" is bad. Lol!

Just don't call me an "autist". YUCK!

An "autist"(like an "artist", or a "scientist", or "dental hygienist") would be a person who trains in grad school to learn autism as a craft and a profession, and who now gets paid good money to be "autistic" on command! I wish I COULD get paid to be autistic. But I digress.

That's why, unlike the "person first" police, I would not shame or correct an autistic person who prefers to use "person first" language to refer to themselves. That's their choice.

The "person first" thing always feels unecessarily fiddly and mealy-mouthed to me. And I'm coming at this as someone whose views are ultra-"SJW" by American standards. I'll happily challenge people on language that is actually offensive, with a vigour proportionate to how deliberate the offense appears to be. (That part's important. And hard when you're autistic.) But this is more "Theoretically you could take offense at being described with adjectives, according to my rather nifty semantic analysis." It ain't no N-word, that's for sure.

Maybe it is more of an issue in other disabled communities?