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7 comments:
What silly person (people?) said -that-?
Because that's just... silly.
I'm autistic. I'm also a freelance writer, a cartoonist, a Metal Gear Solid fan, an agnostic, an English major with an MA, a cat lover, a soon-to-be-husband, and many other traits that aren't about autism.
I use the term "autistic" but I find I have to clarify it since it is such a broad term. Some of the G.R. types get upset because they don't want the word used to describe anyone but *their* children. I've learned to shrug them off.
The entire DSM-V debate is going to cause frustration as people once again try to relabel and reclassify some of us to fit their notions of what is or isn't "marked impairment of X, Y or Z."
If you use "autistic" and it works for you, that's cool with me. I use it and know it bothers some groups. Whatever. I'm not about to give my entire official diagnosis just to convince a certain group that I am, indeed, officially sanctioned to use the words "autism" and "autistic."
"Autisic" implies self-regard/self-focus - this does not feel like me. It is also the name of a brain disorder - this is not a label I am comfortable with. Autism as it is conceived in the DSM is no more to be proud of than a personality disorder. I am not a disease, diseased nor particularly self-focus. This word has nothing for me.
I don't think it's reductive at all!
I think "autistic" conveys a lot more information --- and specifically, a lot more information that people need in order to interact with me --- than most other adjectives I can think of (e.g., brunette, tall, jock, nerd, X-Men fan, bookish, nearsighted, blue-eyed, etc.) would.
As to why I use "autistic" rather than my actual diagnostic category (PDD-NOS): a) I'm not sure there's a meaningful difference between autism, Asperger's and PDD-NOS, and b) most people I've talked to had heard of "autism" but not Asperger's or PDD-NOS. That might not be an issue for people younger than me, and it's less of an issue for me now, now that Asperger's is something more people have heard of, but when I was a child *nobody* had heard of it!
I agree somewhat with Anonymous in that the word autistic, because of its literal meaning (self-focused), makes me uncomfortable and I prefer to either use person-first language, or just say I'm disabled. But there is really good writing, most notably Jim Sinclair's, in support of using the word autistic and I'd never criticize anyone else for using it.
plus, obviously being disabled/having autism is a big part of my identity and there's no way someone has the right to judge me (or you) for saying so. I've seen straight people criticize queer people, too, for "labeling themselves." I feel like almost the only time someone doesn't care about labels or finds them limiting is when that person is the dominant group and doesn't have to think about labels or limits unless they want to.
+1 to Sarah's original post.
My neurology is one of several dimensions that make me who I am. Not the only one, but in some respects a significant one. I don't have any problem with people identifying me by my gender, by my ethnicity, by my nationality, by my sexual orientation -- nor by my neurology.
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