Day 26: Identity Language

I touched on this in an earlier post so I will try to elaborate a little.

Identity or person first language – some autistic people or parents prefer “identity first” language (I am an autistic person). People who prefer this place the emphasis and even pride on the identity - they are proud of being autistic and view themselves as differently as you or I might because of our hair color, physique, temperament, or other attributes. They feel that their autism is an intrinsic part of their being and identity.

Others prefer “person first” (I am a person with autism). They want people to see that they are a person, first, and that their autism is only a part of their being. They are people who have autism. We could say that I am a person with light skin. I am a person, first, and I happen to have light skin; or that my wife is a person of Italian-American descent - she is first and foremost a human being, and she just happens to be Italian.

There is even a third, nominal way to refer to a person with autism (or an autistic person): an autistic. This also has adherents, who find it empowering as Identity-first language does for others, and detractors who say it objectifies the person. It's equivalent to being called a "blonde" or a "German" - in one case it is a synechdoche, where some part of you is used to name your whole being, and in the latter case you are merely ascribed to a class of people.

Personally, I don't mind either of the first two. I don't see a difference, really. Grammatically, it works out the same. I have red shoes versus I have shoes that are red mean the same thing to me. But saying that I have reds takes on a whole new meaning that not only sounds weird but places an emphasis on just one aspect of a larger thing.