Identity First

I’ve noticed many people like to dance around the fact I’m autistic. I hear “oh yeah, she’s a person who happens to be autistic” or something along those lines. I wanted to explain why most autistics prefer identity first language rather than person-first language.

Person first language is “a person with autism” vs identity first is “an autistic person”. So why does this matter? Well, when someone says “person” first, it oftentimes feels like they need to remind themselves that I’m a person. You wouldn’t say “that person who happens to be a woman….”, you would say “that woman…”. I also don’t like when people try to separate autism from me because my autism makes me who I am. Adding those words between “person” and “autism” is taking away how closely related the two things are. Autism is a part of my identity and I’m proud of this label.

I also want to express the importance of language. Language can go a long way in making people feel seen, heard, respected, and understood.

I don’t speak for all autistics, so there may be some who prefer person-first language. But, from hearing others in the autistic community, I believe the general consensus is we prefer identity first.

Thanks for listening and come back next week for future blogs :)