Autistic Hedgehog

[“My son has autism but he’s not autistic!”

So does he keep it in a jar on his shelf or something?]

No, I’m not kidding or exaggerating. This is the sort of shit drifting around the autism tag right now. Rhetoric like this. 

This is why “person with autism” is such problematic language. Some parents try to defend it with claims that it’s because they see their child as a person first WHARGARBL. I suppose there’s something to be said for this person’s honesty. 

Please note that I’m not saying autistic people shouldn’t define themselves as “people with autism” if they so choose. But allistic people have no right to dictate what language gets applied to us. Whether they realize it or not, when they talk about “people with autism” a part of them is trying to separate autism from person, as if autism is some parasite that has taken up residence in their child’s body rather than a very real part of their child. 

This is a genuine–though slightly paraphrased–quote from a person who honestly believes having autism and being autistic are two distinct things. That attitude is vicious and harmful, so when you see autistics speak out against person-first language, know that this is why.