Why I don’t use person first terminology?
Autistic people are often referred to as ‘people with autism’. This terminology is supposed to be politically correct because it ‘avoids labelling the person as their disease’. The difficulty with this is that it assumes that autism is entirely a bad thing and that it is possible to separate a person from their autism. I don’t think either is true. Like many disabled self-advocates, I consider my disability an integral part of who I am. I am autistic. And proud of it.
For anyone who is interested in a more detailed explanation of this position I suggest reading this paper by Jim Sinclair which can currently be found here: