has autism OR is autistic ? | Autism PDD

QUOTE <<DID YOU KNOW that in israel the word (autistic) is used in the same spirit  that 'retard' is used in the US?

Yes, this is true. Also, any autism association will tell you people first - Austism Society of America, National Autism Association, Defeat Autism Now, Cure Autism Now, etc - first note their names are all AUTISM, not 'autistic'. Next, note that it is at their conferences of multiple thousands of people that this 'people first, use autism, not autistic,  is heard.  Lastly, NOTE that all of our children are 'ASD ' is AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER, not 'autistic'.  :)

[QUOTE=emerald_521]I just want to point out that if you all look to the top of your screen--we are in a room for parent's of autistic children...hmmmmm.[/QUOTE]

I noticed the same thing when I read this topicI agree wholeheartedly with what gtto has said. In my courses "people-first" language has been DRILLED into us. I failed a paper because I used the terms "autistic children" and "cognitively disabled students". It's a very interesting topic indeed.

I don't think people who have diabetes are offended by being called diabetic. I know I have anemia and have never been offended by being called anemic.  However, I was raised with two severly mentally retarded and blind uncles.  If anyone ever asked what was wrong with them, I said they were retarded and blind. By the way, I often sat with them when my grandmother and mother would grocery shop.  I had friends who would come over and help me as well.  I was never embarrassed by them or what DX they had.

I am not embarrassed by my son's autism.   I love him.  He has autism.  He is autistic.

the other side of the coin -

My son IS sweet loveable affectionate rigid smart and HAS a sense of humor. My son IS gorgeous, likes the kitchen, and IS a daddy's boy. My son HAS autism, HAS big brown eyes, HAS his daddys smile, and IS a precious child of God. My son IS very special, IS charming, HAS a great laugh, and IS a sweetheart. My son HAS autism, he IS not autistic.

I agree with gtto and bullet.

Just another point, even though so many good ones have come from this already, I still want to say that my son has epilepsy...he is an epileptic and when I have talked to people about his epilepsy and have said "he is an epileptic" I can't ever remember anyone walking away from that conversation, thinking that is all there is to Mason...they know he is so much more, just it IS part of him.

The idea that it is derogatory to refer to me as autistic is far more offensive to me than the idea of being referred to as autistic.  It says there is something so awful about being autistic that the very word (which describes a significant part of how autistic people's brains work) is derogatory. 


"Autistic" is by the way not in any way equivalent to the word "retard" which is almost always an insult (in disability contexts anyway, I'm not talking about the meaning as a verb), and should not be compared to it.  "Retard" is a disability-hating slur, "autistic" is a legitimate adjective describing a person whose brain functions have certain characteristics.  "

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I AGREE!

Mary

Hi Mona,dont worry ,you did not offend anyone,We all like a good debate!!

It keeps us sharp for all the ,Drs, teachers , workers we need to "debate "all the time ,to get our kids with Autism  or our Autistic kids what they need.(I use both).

God bless,Linda

What I say depends on who I am saying it to. I usually say "My son with autism" or "My son, who lives with autism" in conversation, but I use "Autistic child" when I need to make a point to someone.

We were flying across the country recently, and at the airport I needed a gate pass so my sister could help me in the terminal until the flight boarded. I used the "Flying alone with an autistic child" b/c I didn't want to explain my life story to the ticket agent, I just needed the pass so we could get food for a melting-down 9-yr-old, who desperately needed lunch before we took off.

I try to educate people on the reality of life with autism when I can, but sometimes you just gotta get a double hamburger Happy Meal 10 minutes ago.

Whne I am working I use people first language. I also use people first when talking to other professionals that work with my son.

However, when I am talking to my friends I say Aiden is autistic because it is so much a part of who he is that i cant seperate it. I am also very pround to have an autistic son.

Personally, I don't view autism as a medical diagnosis or an invading disease, which is what the "my child has..." terminology implies to me.  It is an integral part of who he is, just as his red hair, gender and race is.

So... I usually say my son is autistic if it is necessary, just as I say I am a redhead, or I am of gaelic descent.  It is simply another part of the human rainbow.  It is simply one of many manners used to identify, but not define him.

If he ever decides he's offended and lets me know, then I'll change what is said.

Just yesterday I said he was autistic .

We were at Walmart and he was making some high pitch noises.  One of the co-workers came over with the biggest smile and said to my son we dont let wild animals in here you sound like a moose in heat. I knew the guy was being funny so I didnt take it personally at all. I just told the guy that he was autistic and he has some intersting sounds at times.

I feel like it doesn't matter what we call it...eventually some forms of society are going to make derogatory remarks......regardless.   I say what comes out of my mouth at the time it's needed.  Sometimes that means that my son was diagnosed with Autism....or Autistic. 

Karrie

I have most often used "he is autisitc" to describe J.  I never even thought that could be offensive to anyone-- I sincerely appologize if I have offended anyone.

I'm sorry, but I didn't know!!!!!

 This is one perspective.

 http://web.syr.edu/%7Ejisincla/person_first.htm

Phonetics???  I have thought of this often and both perspectives have a lot of validity. 

I am truly brainstorming here, as I really have not formed an opinion, but one thought was...being something (is autistic) seems a more "permanent" stement of fact, wheras has something (has autism) seems more temporary, or that it will change???  maybe? 

The PC way to express this is by using People First terminology.  That means that someone is not their disability.  They are THEMSELVES but the HAVE a disability.

My child HAS autism.

Personally, though, I don't really think it matters.  If my child couldn't see, I would say, "My child is blind."  Not "My child has blindness."  JMHO

The first confernence I ever went to after dx stated that it is insulting to say 'he is autistic' - in line with saying 'he is crippled' to a handicapped person.

that was years ago and since then multiple times I have heard and read 'people first' - a person 'has' this or that, it does not define the person.

I have CP, I am not a cripple.

I have cognitive disfunction, I am not a retard.

I have autism, I am not an autistic.

Calling someone autistic is considered a derrogative remark in 100 % of the conferences and books I have read.

But to many autistic people it is not considered offensive, it is considered a significant part of who they are. If someone says they prefer for themselves to be known as a person with autism then I will call them by that terminology, because that is their choice. If Tom ever says to me that is how he wishes to be referred, then that is how I shall refer to him. But those (and I count myself amongst them) who wish to be known as autistic rather than a person with this deserve to have our personal choices accounted for. To deny somebody the right to label themselves as they see fit, to claim that one terminology is insulting whilst failing to grasp why a person should wish to refer to themselves in such a way is erroneous.

I still say I have a child with autism..it is very hard for me to say "she's autistic" although I have said that before but it is more painful in my gut to state that for some reason..not sure why??

Hi there, I have a question.

When you tell someone your child has autism, do you say...

My child has autism?

or do you say , my child is autistic?

the reason I asked is, my sil and I were talking, and he said  Devin has autism, he is not autistic! he went on to explain why he says that. He said  that would be like saying someone with cancer is cancerous. He said Devin is my son who happenes to have autism

I never thought about it that way

Grandma to Devin 3yrs  ASD/SID

I've wondered this too.  I still have a hard time saying either one.  For some reason saying "he's on the spectrum," is easier for me to say.  I have no idea why. 

[QUOTE=gtto]
I'm a woman, and that does not define everything I am, and I am more than the sum of female body parts, but nobody ever makes me call myself a person with womanhood.  Therefore, I see no reason to avoid calling myself an autistic person.
[/QUOTE]

Thats an interesting take on it.. I especially like it because it shows to me that there is no shame in being autistic / having autism.

Mary

I say both...wow I guess I never thought it could offend someone...sorry to anyone it might have offended. 

But I do like Gtto's explanation!!  Thanks.