Person-first language and autism reveals the very un-politically correct attitude behind politically correct language—the firmly-entrenched belief that autism is not an integral part of a person's identity, but an unfortunate disease.
Origins and Purpose of Person-First Language
Person-first or people-first language was developed in order to remove the focus in language from an individual's special needs to his personhood. Rather than defining a person by his condition, ie. 'This is Tony my paraplegic friend', person-first language strives to emphasise that the condition is merely one aspect of that person, ie. 'Tony has paraplegia'. Person-first language replaces phrases such as 'cancer survivor' or 'the disabled' with 'person who has survived cancer' or 'people with disabilities'.
Kathy Snow's teaching article ' People First Language ' explains
'Words are powerful. Old, inaccurate descriptors and the inappropriate use of medical diagnoses perpetuate negative stereotypes and reinforce a significant and an incredibly powerful attitudinal barrier.'
Ironic words, the autism community claims. For three pages later, Snow includes 'autistic' in a list of words to be avoided. Instead, she says, we should say a person 'has a diagnosis of autism'.
Autism Rights Advocates' Objections to Person-First Language
What autism groups find offensive in Snow's would-be sensitivity is the underlying assumption that autism is a disease, an unfortunate condition which has happened to the otherwise normal individual, and which does not define him. Autism advocates, on the other hand, view autism as an integral part of their personality and an interesting variation on human wiring, not a disease or disorder. As such, referring to themselves as 'autistic' reinforces their sense of identity. Person-first language trivialises, separates and demonises the autism in an autistic individual.
Jim Sinclair, author of the seminal autism rights essay 'Don't Mourn For Us', points out in 'Why I Dislike Person-First Language' that person-first language is only applied to perceived negative or trivial traits. One refers to a female, not a 'person with femaleness'; to a Russian, not a 'person with Russianness'. Yet autistics consider their autism to be at least equally central to their being as gender or nationality. Jim declares 'If I did not have an autistic brain, the person that I am would not exist. I am autistic because autism is an essential feature of me as a person.'
Preferred Terms Among the Autistic Community
Autistics generally prefer to be referred to simply as autistics, with 'autists' a minority preference. Autism author Donna Williams coined the term 'Auties', usually used within the autistic community; those with Asperger's Syndrome commonly use the term 'Aspies' or (less often) 'Aspergians'. However, autistic culture is as diverse as any other, and some autistics prefer person-first terminology.
Sarah Tennant - Sarah Tennant is a onetime English major who lives in New Zealand with her husband and two small children. Her interests range from ...
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