Choosing Words That Empower: Respectful Language Around Autism
It's essential to address language we use around Autism.
To start off strong, I strongly encourage people to examine the term Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD, and consider what the name implies if you have never heard the term before. It gives a very negative connotation pathologizes Autism and literally calls it a disorder. And disorders we surely want to improve or fix, right? I, for one, find that language stigmatizing and demeaning. Instead, I use Autism or Autistic. Easy right? Lets keep going.
Non-verbal is also something I encourage people not to say to remain inclusive to the range of ways we can communicate. While someone might not be verbal, it does not mean they are not able to communicate at all. These people might be able to sign, use a tablet, or communicate with people using non-word noises. Instead, I suggest people refer to those that do not communicate using words as non-speaking instead.
High and low functioning are terms that carry the same tune. “Functioning” is a clinical term that requires making a judgement about something that might be difficult or maybe impossible to see. Instead, we prefer to say low or high support needs to describe the extent of someone’s disability. This better accounts for the vast ways that people need to be supported, and makes more room for the ebbs and flows that might come when a person is experiencing burnout, when they are ill, etc.
Another one I hear from time to time is about people being diagnosed with Asperger’s. This has not been a term used in clinical practice in a very long time. We stopped using it due to the association with the person who coined the term, Hans Asperger, who was implicated with the Nazi party. There are conflicting reports of what happened, but during his research, Asperger reportedly let some of the child participants in his study go to the Nazi Labor camps after finding them less desirable neurotype. The subset of children that were the focus of his research (the ones later identified as having Asperger’s) seem to have been deemed as more valuable that the other children since they were saved from death in the concentration camps. Obviously, there is a lot of things problematic with continuing to use the term Asperger’s, even beyond it being an extremely out-of-date explanation.
In pushing for true acceptance, we can’t just share a post on Instagram. That is performative. Accept the neurodivergent folks in our communities by seeing and respecting them, and valuing their place in society. A place where most people can start is by adopting the empowering rhetoric, like what I have outlined here that doesn’t stigmatize or pathologize neurodivergent people.