Anyone else find terms used by mental health professionals offensive?

Ah right. I understand.

Thagts part of my point, it's all pretty discriminatory, but if you're ND, a term I'm using more and more as I find it the least ddiscrimatory, hen it seems to add an extra layer offence, mostly because of the assumptions of others.

When I said that I couldn't see being NT being labled a condition or disorder, I Wasn't meaning that NT's can't have a disorder, justthat they're not going to be labeled as NT and be desciminated against because of it. 

Social anxiety disorder is a good one, high masking autists can be misdiagnosed. And you can have both, which is what I think I may have had 30 years ago. 

Referee has two definitions, the second of which is "a person willing to testify in writing about the character or ability of someone, especially an applicant for a job."

Damn, imagine being a psychiatrist having to know what all these mean and the difference between them all

What about people with physical disabilities. Are there no disordered bodies? 

I searched online and found loads of disorders, some of which I would have thought NT people could have.

www.psychologytoday.com/.../dsm

Not unless they become a minority.

Perhaps if they change the diagnostic criteria so 60 or 70% of people are not NT.

But then ND would be NT by definition. Hmmmm.

Somehow I can't see there ever being a neurotypical disorder, even though NT's cause so many problems and prejudice.

Exactly! It is unlikely that universal satisfaction can be achieved. 

I think this shows where the problem lies though. Some are happy with it being called a disorder, some prefer condition, you prefer neither. Whatever they call it, somebody will be unhappy with it. And I'm not sure theres a solution to that problem.

Yes, it feels offensive because autism is a unique way of being and it is a spectrum which manifests in different ways. Unfortunately, until Psychiatrists can better reflect and agree on an appropriate name for autism, we are stuck with disorder. 

The link describes the differences between syndrome, disorder and disease https://psychologyfor.com/the-differences-between-syndrome-disorder-and-disease/

Some people prefer to call autism ASC, but I don’t like that as it would feel like a condition I am lumbered with, such as an illness. That is because a condition is something some people have, not something they are. 

Syndrome sounds better to my ears, but the first link shows why this doesn’t fit. 

AS (Autistic Spectrum) is great, but that could be problematic as it wouldn’t fit in the existing classifications in the DSM (Second link), it would be returned to the list of disorders. 

The problem remains that although I am not a condition, I don’t have a condition, and I am not conditioned (unless I increase fitness), I can have a disorder, be a disorder and be disordered  (according to ASD definition), although I don’t identify with those terms.

I prefer to say I am autistic, and in that way I avoid calling myself disordered or conditioned, or saying I have a disorder or condition. 

This links to the ‘Book of Disorders’ otherwise known as the DSM https://www.psychiatryonline.org/dsm. To read, you would need to purchase unless you can access it through a library or university.

in the meantime, I am autistic, other people are non-autistic and if pushed I will agree that the majority of people are not neurodivergent. 

I think the name autism spectrum condition works fine for this though. It shows it is a diagnosis and can still be classed as a disability but sounds a bit better to me. This is a topic people are never going to agree on though.

But they aren't referees, they are not adjudicating on any rules. They are independent historical observed behavioural data providers which is too long to say. Informant seems easier and is technically correct.

If the medical field were to remove all reference to deficits, disorder, impairment, etc. which are not terribly flattering terms, then what are they diagnosing?

Why would you diagnose a difference that has no negative impact? You don't don't get diagnosed for being taller than average or having longer toes. 

The criteria require there to be some impact on your life, it can be emotional, relational, psychological, sensory, etc. Else you are just a quirky individual with some autistic traits, but not autistic.

Exactly, it's the negative connotations of the language used in today's world that I find so annoying. How would people react today if when they applied for a job, the company insisted on you supplying a number of informants instead of referees? And who is to say that a "disturbance of function" won't turn out to be an evolutionary breakthrough?

I don't think the problem is the literal definition of the word disorder. It is the connotations that come with that. Yes there are things we find difficult as autistic people but do we want to be seen as something that is disordered or just a different way of being that hopefully with time will come to be accepted? Personally I think autism spectrum condition just sounds better.

This is one of those things that is always going to split opinion. Some people dislike autism being called a disability and some really fight for it to be seen as one. Some people dislike the word disability altogether and want it to be changed, others dislike the fact that people are trying to take that identity away from them by trying to change the name. It's complicated because it also involves opinion.

Unfortunately, what ever words are used always seem to end up having negative connotations attached to them. Special needs is a great example of this. It was a term introduced, particularly in schools, to try and move away from the negative words that were used to describe people with support needs and to try and make it sound more positive. All that has actually happened is that special has become an insult and now people dislike the term. Sometimes, I'm not sure we can actually win.

If you look at the technicalities of it, autism is accurately defined as a disorder:

https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/disorder
Disorder:
A disturbance of function, structure, or both, resulting from a genetic or embryonic failure in development or from exogenous factors such as poison, trauma, or disease.

With autism the brain does not develop normally - we are unable to develop the sensory filters that neurotypicals do.

I think what is happening is you are creating an interpritation of the words that is negative. If you can try to see them as medical facts then they are simply accurate descriptions.

With the word informant, the correct interpritation is:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/informant

1- one that imparts knowledge or news

the other interpritations are secondary so it helps to realise that the main definition is what is being used here.

I think things which can be treated are disorders. Autism can't be treated so it ought to be in a different bucket. But there is no other bucket and it is still a disability.

Unfortunately disorder is the official wording of the diagnosis. There has been a big push in a lot of professional places to call it autism spectrum condition instead but unfortunately this hasn't stretched to a change in medical terms as it's not what the diagnosis is called. I don't know what would need to happen in order for that to happen. I imagine the same goes for OCD although there doesn't seem to have been the same push to change the wording of that. ADHD is the same issue being called a disorder. In fact the entire name of ADHD is incorrect and doesn't fit the condition so that could do with a total change. 

I think the medical world and the social political one can cross into each others territory at points. These “disorders” we shall call them for now need to be named so in the medical world because they conflict with socially expected norms. The term neurodivergent is a very new term but is much more inclusive and tends to impress the idea that we are all the same but just think differently. Disorder does sound more on the harsh side though I agree. There is still a long way to go with society and it’s understanding towards these conditions including all those not on the spectrum but involving the personality.