This is a point of charity that many miss, so I wrote about it:
When I have posted about autism, I occasionally have had an argument about terminology. I am autistic. Occasionally a concerned person will tell me that I should call myself someone “with autism.” I’d really prefer you use “autistic” (identity-first language) but can live with you using “with autism” (person-first language). Nobody diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder has ever told me that my language is wrong but only those from outside. In fact, surveys repeatedly show that a decent majority of us prefer “autistic” over “person with autism.”
Most in the disabled community do prefer person-first language and it is the current norm in professional settings. But, we autistics, along with the Deaf and blind, tend to prefer identity-first language. I want to explore why that is from our side and why Christians should use identity-first language for us. Others have explored this elsewhere but I want to present an argument from Christian categories.
