Autism Soccer: Autism and Semantics: People-first Language

Children with autism need help from professors, therapists and parents to change the world to a people-first language.

Language is the most powerful way to reach others and communicate. Communication demands that verbal and nonverbal expressions are in equilibrium to ensure the successful delivery of the message to those who are listening. People-first language has been a matter of debate on the subject of autism. “individual with ASD,” “person with autism,” “person who has autism” are examples of people-first, but why is it used? And what does autistic self-advocates think of it? Let’s start by explaining what it means to use this language in general.

People-first language is, in essence, a way to emphasize the value of the person beyond the condition itself. It means that the individual is more important than any condition that could have. This language respectfully puts the person before the disability in a way people can relate to them without the disabilities getting all the attention.

But as it is widely used, it is also criticized by several autistic self-advocates and members of the autism community, who prefer using “autistic,” “autistic individual” or “autistic person,” as a form of acceptance of the condition as a necessary part of autistics’ identity. The stigma behind these terms is that it feels insulting to parents when people use these terminologies to refer to their children.

All terminologies stated above are widely used in most autistic communities in an attempt to identify children and individuals in society. The debate resides in how people perceive autism: with people-first language focusing on the person-not-the-disability vs. those who claim it’s offensive to deny the condition itself.

It’s understandable to feel the need to protect your children from harm, but you need to keep in mind that your kids' condition is something that they should relate and identify with and not a title to be looked down upon by others. The moment you deny what they are in essence, your children could feel just as bad as you do.

Which choice is better then? It depends on the context: if you’re in a community of autistic self-advocates, people-first might be inappropriate. Nonetheless, if you’re in a group of parents or communities of people without autism, consider using people-first language.

Hopefully, there’ll be a way to find a point in between these two, for the sake of both sides. From understanding comes closeness, further turning into more support for the cause. Search a way to communicate properly, and if your intentions are pure, your message will reach those who need it.