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Is "autist" offensive?

Bunny

The suggestion in this article is that use of the term is "outdated at best and offensive at worst":

https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/is-autists-offensive/

Some other notable comments from the article:

"Today, “autist” is rarely used by researchers, doctors, or autistic people themselves—but it can be found in edgy online spaces." 

"Because it’s often used in poor taste in modern Internet culture, I would avoid it unless someone with autism specifically tells you it’s his/her preferred term."

Re Wall Street Bets (which seemingly brought the term back into modern usage, with the opposite meaning to how they used “retards”): "The guide doesn’t explain how this terminology developed, but it’s probably rooted in the stereotype that every person with autism is a high-functioning, obsessive expert on certain topics, or even a savant-level genius."

Personally, I don't like it. For some reason, it irritates me. Having learned more about its modern usage, it now also feels either derogatory (when used by others) or too snobbish and aligned with "Aspie supremacy"-style thinking. I prefer "autistic person" or just “autistic” which can also be used as a noun.

Parents

  • No it isn't offensive in the least. In fact it is better than 'autistic', when referring to people, as it is a noun, while 'autistic' is an adjective and to be grammatically correct requires a noun to refer to, as in 'autistic person'. 'Autist' is therefore more efficient.

  • in reply to Martin

    I don't see it as offensive either, it just is.

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    I quite like it, it has artistic connotations. But there again, I'm happy being called a "sperglord" by my friends.

    I have had a  few people call me "sperg" which I'm not so keen on, but it seems to make them happy, so who cares? 

    Once I realised I could pick my own pronouns, in fact that is the essence of the thing (PYO) and that they could be used to correct peoples misunderstanding about who I actually AM versus who I APPEAR to be to them, the whole thing became a lot more sensible and attractive a proposition. Some people don't like my pronouns, but they is just becasue they are just bigots. 

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  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    I quite like it, it has artistic connotations. But there again, I'm happy being called a "sperglord" by my friends.

    I have had a  few people call me "sperg" which I'm not so keen on, but it seems to make them happy, so who cares? 

    Once I realised I could pick my own pronouns, in fact that is the essence of the thing (PYO) and that they could be used to correct peoples misunderstanding about who I actually AM versus who I APPEAR to be to them, the whole thing became a lot more sensible and attractive a proposition. Some people don't like my pronouns, but they is just becasue they are just bigots. 

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