Published on 12, July, 2020
How do y'all feel about an autistic person identifying as an "aut*st" or calling their autistic friends they have close relationships with the same word? My autistic friend prefers it because he says it is "taking the word back", but only autistic people can use it. He likens it to the n-word or h*llbilly.
Personally, I agree with him. In fact, I designed a shirt that says "All my friends are aut*sts" (but actually spelled out without the astrix). It's from a running personal joke where I was completely unaware I was autistic and just thought I liked autistic people, which is why I would say, "All my friends are autistic." Using the word "aut*sts" in the shirt would be an indirect way of disclosing my autism flavor since only autistic people can use it. Would this shirt be offensive?
Whilst I personally don't think it's on the same level as racial slurs like the n-word (there's a lot of very dark history behind words like that, that's why they're deplorable), I think allistic people should tread with caution when using words like 'autist' and 'Aspie'. As an Autistic person all I can say is that I get a bit irritated when allistics/NTs use them. My reaction is to cringe and say 'that's not for you to say, mate' (although I don't actually say it out loud). It can sound a bit like they're taking the mickey. To be really honest, I think it's only OK for anyone (this includes other Autistic people) to use a word like 'autist' or 'Aspie' in relation to themselves; if that's how people personally want to identify, then cool, but unless you absolutely know that the person is comfortable with you calling them an 'Aspie' or an 'autist', stick with 'Autistic person', or 'person with Autism' (although I, like many, am not keen on the 'person-first' language and think it's always best to stay 'Autistic person'). Or probably the best thing to do, if possible, is to start by actually asking what the Autistic person wants to be referred to as. Just my opinion.
I like it! Thanks for sharing. I will be employing this approach.