because its autism acceptance/awareness day i thought i'd do a little thread explaining why the majority of autistics, including myself, prefer identity-first language over person-first language.

#WorldAutismAwarenessDay
#AutismAcceptance
#ActuallyAutistic

just so yall know:

person first = person with autism, person who has autism

identity first = autistic

the main reason that many neurotypical people think that person-first language is better is because they think that we shouldn't be "defined" by our autism. they think that it's important that we are people before we are autistic.

with autism/has autism implies that our autism is extractable. the thing is, autism affects everything i do, every day. i have been autistic since i was born, and i will be autistic for the rest of my life.

it's not something i have, it's something i AM.

my autism is a large part of my identity, so i do not want it to be viewed as something that i "have". i'm autistic.

if i wasn't autistic i would be a completely different person, with a different personality and with different experiences.