I see a lot of people arguing for the use of “person with autism” instead of “autistic person” when referring to somebody on the spectrum. This tends to not be preferred by people who actually have the condition because we feel that being autistic is inseparable from our experiences as people. Additionally, there is the idea that neurotypicals (people who are not autistic) use person first language as a way of reminding themselves we are people instead of actually changing their perspective on the condition.

I like to compare this to the deaf and hard of hearing community, since I am also part of that. Nobody would tell a profoundly deaf person that they shouldn’t call themselves “deaf” and should instead say “person who is hard of hearing”. For one, it is a mouthful. Also, being profoundly deaf is such a unique experience that it is integral to the person’s identity.

This issue goes back to the idea of neurotypical people speaking for autistic people and ignoring our experiences. If autistic people are saying that they prefer this language, it should not still be a discussion amongst neurotypical people. The self advocacy project is about increasing the amount of content about autism from autistic people.