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Why do I use the term “autistic people”?

A lot of people — and indeed, many government authorities — strongly encourage or even require the use of “people-first language”; that is, saying things like “a person with autism has specific needs” instead of “an autistic has specific needs”. The recommendation is based in a belief (backed with some research) that emphasizing the “people” first will lead to less stigma and more acceptance.

As a result, I’m often asked why I specifically use “autistic person” or “because I’m autistic” instead of people-first language. And the short answer is really three short points:

it solves the problem just as well or better
it is far less awkward, which in my opinion avoids drawing excessive attention to usage over the content of what I’m discussing
a significant majority of people within my primary audience (autistic people who natively speak English and who are in the US) prefer “autistic people”, as do I

It’s important to note that it’s fairly universally considered gross to refer to an autistic person as “an autistic”, though some specific people do refer to themselves as “an autist”. Obviously if a specific person or group has a preference, make an effort to respect that.

Why my personal preference

From a personal standpoint, I much prefer to refer to myself as “an autistic person”. Autism isn’t something I have, it’s a feature of me. I’m not “a person with tallness” either: I’m just a tall person. Calling me “a tall” or a group of tall people “the talls” is at minimum weird; and “a person who is tall” just seems like it’s trying way too hard.

And while being autistic certainly has a bigger effect on my life than being tall, it does seem to me like the same category of thing. It’s just a thing about me. Some aspects of it present challenges (I’m tall, therefore I hit my head on cielings and doorframes sometimes; I’m autistic, therefore loud environments can be extra challenging sometimes). Some aspects are beneficial (I’m tall, so I can reach high shelves without a stool; I’m autistic so I can see connections between concepts that others might miss). And some aspects are just unusual, and it’s a mix of context and others' reactions that determine if a given aspect is challenging, neutral, or positive.