"Person-with" language

[rainbow_goddess]

I have Asperger's Syndrome. At various times I say I am an Aspie, I am autistic, I am on the autism spectrum, I have an autism spectrum disorder or I have Asperger's Syndrome. I generally don't bother to use "person with" language and I don't say that I have autism or that I am a person with autism. I don't insist that other people call themselves

Comments

[gloraelin]

I personally would not be okay publishing in a journal where I could not self-identify with what I, well, ID as. As long as it's not a slur [and even then in certain instances] I think "people first" guidelines should just go boom.

[atalantapendrag]

Oh, but if they don't insist you stubborn autistic writers use the language they think is appropriate, how will everyone know how progressive they are?

[piemancer]

Winning!

[lilenth]

^This, That's the kind of crap I've frequently heard from majority people who try to police the self identity of minority groups.

[ebay313]

I wonder how they would respond if you threw out the idea of doing a full article for the journal on this issue of person first language with autism and self-identifications with non-person first language with autism. I've heard people with autism say that they prefer simply "autistic" to "person with autism" because they feel it is a part of their personality in a way other disabilities are not. Not that everyone feels that way, but perhaps they would be open to tackling the issue in a head on way doing research and putting together an article on the difference in identification and the reasons for it? Which may also open the door then to recognizing in the journal that there are a range of identifications among people.

I hate when people don't realize that person first language or whatever else really doesn't (shouldn't) supersede individual's personal identifications.

[rainbow_goddess]

I have indeed written an article on the subject:

http://purpleaspie.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/person-first-language/

[muuranker]

I think this could be the basis of an excellent academic article.

[rainbow_goddess]

I'm currently editing and updating it. I'm going to share it at the next writers group meeting.

[sammason]

It sounds to me as though this 'guideline' discriminates against autistic people. Some autistic people may like the guideline, others may adapt to it, but I think that some will decide not to write for this particular autism journal. How ironic is that? Bah.

[piemancer]

"Persons with a hearing impairment?" Dude, force me to erase Deaf culture in order to participate in a hearing publication? Talk about a mask of benevolence!

[fallconsmate]

so much this. Deaf culture EXISTS and hearing people arent in the same universe as much of it.

i dont have hearing impairment of any kind. TheEngineer is nearly at the point of needing hearing aids from too many years of working in machine shops with no hearing protection. and that isnt even CLOSE to Deaf culture.

[rainbow_goddess]

Interestingly, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "person with deafness." Then again, I don't normally hear anyone say "person with a hearing impairment" either. My mother was severely hard of hearing, and she normally just said she was deaf. My ASL teacher said that in the Deaf community (capital D), the terms were normally "Deaf" and "Hard of hearing." (ASL sign "h-h").