Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
I recently got diagnosed at the age of 23. I am learning more about Autism and myself more and more. But I notice that I am struggling with the use of the correct terminology. I am learning but is it just me or have you experienced the same?
It made me realize how little I know, only after getting diagnosed I started learning about ASD.
I agree, and I feel like every term is an overgeneralisation.
I can appreciate why the terms high/low functioning are no longer used, however high/low support need feels like the same thing to me, just worded differently. I just personally feel that people miss out the word spectrum in ASD, and 2 definitive categories simply doesn't work for such a complex disorder where support needs can change based on the minute.
Whilst I understand it is important to ensure that people who need more help, can receive it, I am cautious that labelling people as having "low support needs" will make people more reluctant to provide them with help when they do need it due to the pre-conceived idea that they need less help.
Chloe I said:I just personally feel that people miss out the word spectrum in ASD, and 2 definitive categories simply doesn't work for such a complex disorder where support needs can change based on the minute.
If you are talking about correct terminology when referring to our autistic community, many of us including myself are heavily against the use of the word disorder to describe our autistic experiences. We are not disordered, we are perfectly neurodivergent or more specifically autistic.
The use of the term disorder is an unnecessary and harmful tool of the pathology paradigm, you could instead make the transition to the neurodiversity paradigm which validates and celebrates different ways of being human.