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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

  • I am still reading people who aren't autistic being referred to as 'NT'.

    How do we know they are neurotypical unless we know them well personally?

    They may have any of the other 'conditions' under the ND umbrella and therefore still be ND even though they aren't autistic.

    Therefore unless we know the person very well, 'allistic' is the appropriate term surely?

    I can't seem to get over this and it really bothers me each time I read it and actually puts me off reading the thread (which of course is no loss to anyone other than myself).

  • in reply to B
    B said:
    How do we know they are neurotypical unless we know them well personally?

    This opens a whole can of worms about labelling anyone with anything.

    Some autists are actually misdiagnosed so to avoid this uncertainty should we not call them autistic / allistic / ND etc? 

    If you try to cater for every possibility then you end up being hugely generalist which makes the conversations much less meaningful.

    It may be better to accept that there is a small margin of error in any diagnosis or labelling and trust that it is the majority to whom you are referring.

  • in reply to Iain
    Iain said:
    It may be better to accept that there is a small margin of error in any diagnosis or labelling and trust that it is the majority to whom you are referring.

    Please let me know the characteristics of an NT person then ie someone who doesn't have any of the conditions under the ND umbrella to make these conversations 

    Iain said:
    meaningful
  • in reply to Iain
    Iain said:
    It is also worth noting that many NTs do have ND characteristics though - this is the nature of any spectrum condition. 

    This supports my point well. 

  • in reply to Iain
    Iain said:

    That is like asking what are the characteristics of someone who does not have a cold.

    Any of the ND diagnoses have a list of criteria that are noted by a professional and when a certain number at a certain level of intensity are recorded then they pass the threshold for the diagnosis.

    If you consider anyone who does not reach this criteria as NT then there you have it.

    Being ND is much more complex than the common cold.

    Your words help illustrate how talking about NTs is often not meaningful in the context used.

Reply
  • in reply to Iain
    Iain said:

    That is like asking what are the characteristics of someone who does not have a cold.

    Any of the ND diagnoses have a list of criteria that are noted by a professional and when a certain number at a certain level of intensity are recorded then they pass the threshold for the diagnosis.

    If you consider anyone who does not reach this criteria as NT then there you have it.

    Being ND is much more complex than the common cold.

    Your words help illustrate how talking about NTs is often not meaningful in the context used.

Children
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