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.

What kaytee said basically, previously they would of been misdiagnosed as other things, severe cases would of been hidden away/mental hospitals rather then being allowed to go to school, medical advancement and diagnosis criteria has improved a lot

I guess as with 'if you've met someone with autism, you've met one person with autism', there are just as many parents of children with autism.

Yes, it's fairly low down on my list of day to day concerns but that doesn't mean it's unimportant. I think vocabulary contributes towards attitude. It's why the Spastic Society rebranded.

Rory as PPs have said it is an uncertain area, but one that should be discussed. Without giving reference to the academic knowledge quoted (which by the way does not include all knowledge as academic writing writing itself relies on reference to previous knowledge to substantiate itself, a great fault in my opinion); having been born in the early 60s I do note the societal changes which has led to what we have today. My observations are that society was far more understanding of difference than it is now, whilst society now thinks it is far more accepting it is not, because it relies on law and legal obligations more than it does on what the individual or groups of individuals do to informally help others. Academically it is referred to as 'fragmentation'. The job/work market is restricted and highly monitored and people that don't fit the 'norm' are easily discarded now. HR departments are a newish concept - I remember telling all sorts of fibs about my age/intentions to secure a job just by turning up and 'saying', no referencing, computer checks, etc. There were more special schools. There was more philanthropy, the wealthy 'gave' to support the less well off; only the mega-rich do that now. People cared more about each other. The 'naughty' kids were beaten by teachers and then could leave education earlier for some form of employment (or not) or be totally screwed up and end up in prison, institutions or whatever (dead?). I don't know the answer to your extremely valid question, I doubt we ever will. The only thing I do believe is that Society now is deluding itself with thinking that it has advanced from previous times, in my opinion it has gone backwards in tolerance since the legal recognition of difference - because the individuals in our society rely on the legal obligations and not what they, as individuals, think and can do.

Thank you for your replies. It makes total sense that medical knowledge was just lacking in this area back in the 50's and I suppose because there are degrees of severity, some children would just not have been seen as being different. PolterGoose thanks I will take a look at the books you suggest and also google the meaning of epigenetics and assortative mating

My apologies to the OP for asking my questions on here but I figured people here are knowledgeable about the subject.

If I may ask one more question: I see lots of threads about how to manage autistic (eg) behaviour but I assume there are no cures as of yet? It seems to be such a huge thing, I'm surprised I haven't heard of or seen ads for charities who are working towards a cure, like cancer for example. It may not be life threatening but it obviously impacts on a huge number of people's lives to varying degrees.

It so happens my dearest friend's GD has just been diagnosed with autism and as my friend is a non-computer person I will be passing on any and all info you kindly share with me to enable her to understand her GD better.

Thank you

Yeah I have AS and would prefer not to be called 'a disorder' or even 'having a disorder. It's a difference, it's an essential part of who I am, and there's no 'me' separate from autism. I refer to it as AS instead of ASD. The disorder part is unnecessary. I believe when you have 'high functioning AS' or are an Aspie, the problems you encounter are largely due to neurotypical expectations, not the condition itse.f

*itself

all the neurotypicals are flipping out over grammar.

Or maybe some are less neurotypical than you assume.

Sorry PlanIsNoPlan I didn't see your very interesting reply before my last post. Of course as a child I wouldn't have been aware of those who attended special schools, apart from the deaf and blind who would never attend a 'normal' school.

I agree also that back then there was a far wider range of jobs, some of which could have been done by those who would be identified as autistic today. The job market has narrowed significantly in the last 60 years, with menial jobs being replaced by automation etc. I also imagine it's true to say that 'troublesome' kids were forced to leave school at an early age.

I don't know the answer to society and its attitudes or if it can ever change - I think it has gone too far.

Please don't apologise Rorty

The thing is Rorty the range is so wide. A lot of PhDs and people with great expertise and aptitude in various things are on the spectrum but people at that end of the ability range were unlikely to be diagnosed until recently. So those types of people have probably always been in with a chance to find a niche and aren't people that would necessarily require TAs in class even now.

Conversely many people with ASC plus a learning disability would just have had the learning disability identified in decades past. Or various other catch all labels we don't use now.

Various other factors too. It's a complicated picture and an extremely broad spectrum.

Rory thank you. From a parent with a child who may probably not have been labeled with a 'condition', because it was more acceptable 'in my day' to be a little bit 'different'. I would probably have been 'labeled' too if I had to negotiate what we have today. They would have given me a name other than my own. Thankfully I don't have to live through the narrowness of normality as a young person/child that he has to live through now; I'm his Mum, I have to watch it and live it and if I could change things I would rather that Society had moved on and that he could experience the life that I have had and I'm doing everything I can to ensure he has those chances. As most Mothers do.

Manumission have you mixed me up with another poster? I haven't mentioned the term 'disorder' at all.
Why are you so cross that my adult ds refers to himself as being autistic?

Personally I hate the term Aspie. Really hate it. And I have aspergers. So is ASD doesn't bother me. Has ASD doesn't bother me. Is autistic doesn't. But call be an Aspie and I'll spin tbh!

Rorty I started school in the 80s when autism was really only understood as meaning people who did not have any communication. Asperger's only entered the DSM in (I think) 1997. I had massive problems initially but as you say, there weren't any TAs or special help. Eventually I just went silent (selectively mute) and stopped causing "trouble" which was regarded as a positive. I was only assessed last year in my mid 30s but I have always been on the spectrum.

And it's not just women in our 30s who are seeking diagnoses, it's also people your own age. Fewer in their 60s than in their teens because many adults on the spectrum have been able to find a way to manage and don't feel they need it, but again those who are seeking a diagnosis in their 60s have always been autistic, you just might not have noticed them.

The other thing is that classrooms now are very "busy" - wall to floor displays of brightly coloured work, huge posters with learning things on, whiteboards, smart boards, iPads, chairs arranged around circular tables to facilitate discussions. I learned best in a silent room with desks next to one another where there wasn't any sensory overload. Put me in a modern classroom and I'd be done for! So perhaps the old-fashioned classroom set up was better for children on the spectrum in that sense at least.

"Why are you assuming things instead of engaging with the point about "people first" language?"
I don't understand the point of "people first language" when it comes to autism. If you're hoping to address the part of me that isn't directly affected by autism then you're shit out of luck.
People who are categorically opposed to the phrase 'is autistic' make me wonder if they think it's an insult.

I don't actually know what ASD means - I know what it's an acronym for, but not what it actually means - but I assume that when people use it here they're using it in place of the word autistic. If that's the case then "is ASD" is correct in principle, if not grammatically, and I don't understand why that's an issue.

ASD stands for Autistic Spectrum Disorder

I am bipolar, and I say I'm bipolar, but even so, I was quite taken aback on the maternity ward having dc4 to hear the midwife call out are you the 'bipolar mom'... as if I had given birth to bipolar!

Apologies, misread when you said you didn't know what it means!

I don't like the term ASD however it's used. It's the D that pisses me off. It's not a disorder. There's a spectrum and EVERYONE is on it. Just that people with autism are on the left hand side, to varying degrees, the mildest of which is introvert. The other end is extroverted. Why don't extroverts get branded with extrovert disorder?

Personally I hate the term Aspie. Really hate it. And I have aspergers. So is ASD doesn't bother me. Has ASD doesn't bother me. Is autistic doesn't. But call be an Aspie and I'll spin tbh!

I do too. I normally say I have autism or HFA.

They've ditched the term Aspergers in the medical world now, haven't they?

'As to the other point, the constant shouting down of mature, intelligent, qualified, experienced adult aspie women with "my son says" as if that's case closed is rather common.'

Wow.
Presumably that's aimed at me as well.
Do you make a habit of misrepresenting people to prove your point?
What I actually said was that my son 'describes himself as autistic.'

'And maybe some of these aspie teens happy to say "I am.....disorder" need some support of some kind?'

But no-one has actually said that have they? Apart from you.