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Terminology

B

Are there any particular aspects of autism related terminology that bother you?

Here are some of mine:

1.

ND -v- autistic

NT -v- allistic

The above terms seem (from reading here) to have become interchangeable but, to my mind, they shouldn't be.

Autism is under the umbrella of neurodiversity but so is Tourettes (for example).

Here is a wheel of ND but I've seen some with more 'conditions' included:

If ND is used instead of 'autistic' (when it's actually autism in particular that is probably the subject) I find it hard to follow the arguments/discussion.

2.

Another is the autism spectrum.

I don't know how it was meant when it was first termed, but my understanding of it isn't that there are ends of it that are less autistic, and more autistic, ie becoming more extreme, but rather than we (autistic people) can be less and more extreme as we dip in and out of the symptoms/characteristics:

Below is a link to an article that I think explains it well:

https://neuroclastic.com/its-a-spectrum-doesnt-mean-what-you-think/

3.

Also, if other people say 'we are all on the spectrum, all a little bit autistic etc' then I think it's important to bear in mind that a diagnosis is only given if the characteristics of autism that we match to are disabling to us.

How do others see the above and also, are there any other terms that you find difficult/confusing?

Parents

  • Rather than allowing autistic people to be pushed out of society, I prefer to put autistic people first and to refer to the rest of the world as ‘non-autistic’.

    The medical people use ‘Low functioning’ and ‘High Functioning’ to describe autistic people. I’ve yet to hear anybody described as ‘middle functioning’ or ‘medium functioning’, so it feels like this terminology isn’t accurate, no matter that our traits are variable and dependent on many factors such as environment, noise, location etc.  Moreover, labelling someone as ‘low functioning’ feels like the person is written off—it’s a dreadful label. 

    I probably have ADHD (on a waiting list for assessment). I haven’t decided whether to identify as autistic and ADHD, or AuDHD. Perhaps that doesn’t matter as I won’t be telling many people. At the moment the medical terminology uses two separate conditions. I also have dyspraxia like traits which mainly affect my fine motor skills.

    The medical classification of autism as a deficit is far from satisfactory. People have made imaginative suggestions (on this forum and elsewhere) on how to overcome the problematic classification and language, but none have provided a fully satisfactory resolution.

Reply

  • Rather than allowing autistic people to be pushed out of society, I prefer to put autistic people first and to refer to the rest of the world as ‘non-autistic’.

    The medical people use ‘Low functioning’ and ‘High Functioning’ to describe autistic people. I’ve yet to hear anybody described as ‘middle functioning’ or ‘medium functioning’, so it feels like this terminology isn’t accurate, no matter that our traits are variable and dependent on many factors such as environment, noise, location etc.  Moreover, labelling someone as ‘low functioning’ feels like the person is written off—it’s a dreadful label. 

    I probably have ADHD (on a waiting list for assessment). I haven’t decided whether to identify as autistic and ADHD, or AuDHD. Perhaps that doesn’t matter as I won’t be telling many people. At the moment the medical terminology uses two separate conditions. I also have dyspraxia like traits which mainly affect my fine motor skills.

    The medical classification of autism as a deficit is far from satisfactory. People have made imaginative suggestions (on this forum and elsewhere) on how to overcome the problematic classification and language, but none have provided a fully satisfactory resolution.

Children
  • in reply to ArchaeC
    ArchaeC said:
    The medical classification of autism as a deficit is far from satisfactory

    Do you have a preference?

    I think just autism/autistic comes with far less baggage/assumptions/connotations as it is a simple descriptive term.

  • in reply to ArchaeC
    ArchaeC said:
    The medical people use ‘Low functioning’ and ‘High Functioning’ to describe autistic people

    I've read actually that it's not a medical term but just one that's been used on and off over the years.

    I do like the idea though of a distinction between an autistic person such as myself and one who struggles hugely with everyday life and maybe is very 'disabled' (high support needs), out of respect for them, as I don't want to undervalue their life challenges.

    I think this example of yours highlights some of the issues with terminology which is pre-loaded with assumptions.