AIBU to want posters to stop saying that someone 'is' ASD?

[JigglyTuff]

It's not a taat because it's across multiple threads. Someone can have an ASD or have autism or even, if you must, be autistic. But no one is ASD.

You could argue that when someone says another "is ASD" that they're thinking that person "is autistic spectrum disordered"...

Have a look at This research (definitely not perfect but recent, British and decent survey size...). It looks at what terms people within the 'autism community' including autistic people, parents and their broader support network prefer. (BTW I'm quoting the term 'autistic people' straight from the report)
If you don't want to read the whole article then you might want to skip to the graphs.

I've linked to this report before as I think it's useful and interesting.

People being concerned with this is up there with people saying my dd is rude cos she doesn't make eye contact.
You can get fucked.

I have 3 ds all on spectrum and I detest them being described as autistic, they are so much more than that, They are funny ,quirky,intelligent happy and healthy boys who happen to have autism, I don't get offended if someone describes them as autistic but do gently point out we as a family prefer "has autism".

YANBU at all.

It does seem to be the conditions which can involve differences in the mind where people get labelled as the condition. She is ASD, he is OCD, he is Downs, she is ADHD.

No-one would say "She is IBS, he is COPD, she is hepatitis, he is STD".

She is asthmatic, she is diabetic, she is a sociopath, she is epileptic, she is a coeliac.

Linguistically I don't think it is clear cut

I can't say I stress overly much about it either. So many other concerns that this is a very low rung on the ladder of irritants.

YANBU. It makes me simmer when I read it. I have two children who both have autism.

I can't stand it. I HAVE Autism. So does DC1. We aren't defined by it, and are a lot of other things besides.

It's ok to say someone is asthmatic...

Its also correct to say someone is autistic.
Its not correct English to say someone is asthma.

It really, really grates on me - I wince every time I read it (apart from the wonderful 'I am Cadence' blog), but I'm training myself to accept it because a lot of autistic/aspie people do it, too. I'm not up for policing how autistic/aspie people refer to themselves, and as I've seen 'I'm ASD' so many times, I wouldn't have thought it would bother them if people say 'he/she is ASD' either.

It annoys me because it's grammatically incorrect, as well as because it sounds as though the person embodies and is no more than their ASD.

I'm mother to a child currently being assessed for ADHD and ASD.

I worry about what support he will need, whether he will settle at school and if I am doing the right things to support him.

Whether someone says is or has is way down at the bottom of my list of concerns.

As someone with autism, being referred to as a disorder is an issue for me. When you're trying to make sure you get the right support in the workplace but also not be held back by being autistic then yes words do matter to me.

StatisticallyChallenged. Have you looked at the stats in the report I linked to earlier. They are interesting and highlight the fact that this is a tricky area......

My approach is to avoid using any terms until I am able to work out what is the preferred term of the person of people I am talking to.

Sorry for typos , Person or people

Looking just at the chart "is asd" is not there.

ASD would be used the way autism is used in a sentence. It's a diagnosis, like autism is. Autism is on that chart too, I'm fairly sure you wouldn't say "my child is autism". The second chart they've put is or has in front of most terms but haven't for those which have abbreviations like asd.

Unlike the person first "child with autism" vs condition first "autistic child" which is imo a matter of preference, saying someone "is ASD" is like saying someone "is cancer" and is awful and downright rude. Put it this way - as a not that fussy about terminology person who is happy with casual terms like aspie, if a colleague described me as "stat is asd" I'd complain. I also run a business with staff who work with children and I would not permit them to use "is asd"

I wouldn't use "is ASD" myself but I certainly wouldn't correct anyone who applied it to themselves, and that is certainly something I've seen on here (as in "I'm ASD")

It's the grammar thing as much as anything. Plus I don't like my son being described as a disorder.

Grammatically, the use of "is" instead of "has" is increasingly common - as in "that box is fallen over" or the response "is it?" (with south london twang) to near enough anything. "I've got to go to the shops now" - "IZZZ ITTT?" "That apple's fallen on the floor" - "IZZZZ ITTT?"

It might not be correct but it's understandable and frequently used.

I don't think the confusion is helped by 'she's' being short for 'she has'... ASD, which is of course grammatically correct. She's got three brothers. She's ASD.

So many people on this thread not getting the point at all, though.
I can feel my blood pressure going up.

It's not about 'austistic' versus 'person with autism'.
It's not about 'diabetic' versus 'person with diabetes'.

It's about not saying IS ASD! You wouldn't say 'I am diabetes', would you?!

As Statistically said...

It's not really a struggle over phrasing though. It's a bit like someone who has, say, leukaemia. You could say they have leukaemia, or they have cancer. You would never say they are cancer though.
Similarly is epileptic or has epilepsy, not is epilepsy