Thanks Jack,
Good complete clarification of the subject.
Doug
> On Nov 3, 2023, at 12:16 PM, Ralph Stuart <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I wanted to forward on this message with a thoughtful question from Doug. I
> apologize to Doug for the delay, but it's a topic I have some familiarity
> with and wanted to take the time to pull together some good resources.
>
> What Doug asked about ("people with disabilities" vs. "autistic person")
> goes to the heart of the discussion of "person-first language" versus
> "identity-first language." I'll link to some good articles exploring this at
> the end of my message, but to summarize, person-first language uses phrasing
> to emphasize someone's personhood separate from their identity, disorder,
> disability, etc., while identity-first language emphasizes a trait being
> intrinsic to a person. Historically, identity-first language has been much
> more prevalent, but in the latter half of the 1900s there was a push to
> start using person-first language. Many people with disabilities felt that
> identity-first language contributed to them being reduced to nothing more
> than their disability, that people thought of them as "disabled" and nothing
> else. The NIH gives the example of people with AIDS in the 1980s: "We
> condemn attempts to label us as 'victims,' a term that implies defeat, and
> we are only occasionally 'patients,' a term that implies passivity,
> helplessness, and dependence upon the care of others. We are 'People With
> AIDS.'"
>
> On the flip side of this, however, there are some communities that feel
> person-first language implies that they can be separated from their
> condition, whereas they view it as an intrinsic part of who they are. In
> some cases, they feel pride in their identity, and feel that person-first
> language implies something negative about it. One prominent example of this
> is the Deaf community, who prefer to be referred to as deaf or
> hard-of-hearing rather than "person with hearing loss" or something similar.
> This is rooted in the Deaf community having their own language (American
> Sign Language) and culture. Within the autistic community there is more of a
> divide. Many autistic people prefer identity-first language as they view
> autism as being more of a different way of experiencing the world than a
> disability. With that said, there are many, including many parents of
> autistic children, who advocate for person-first language.
>
> Every article I read discusses that there is always, within every community,
> some degree of debate, and everyone has personal preferences. The key, then,
> is to think carefully about the intention and implications of the language
> you use: generally speaking, if you come from a place of trying to be kind
> and respectful to others, people will reflect that back if they object to
> the terminology you have used, and it's important to be open to changing
> based on new information and the preferences of the person you're speaking
> with. I would say in general, it's best to avoid phrasing that reduces
> someone to a single word (e.g., "a schizophrenic" vs. "person with
> schizophrenia"), implies suffering (e.g., "AIDS victim" vs. "person with
> AIDS"), or attributes negative connotations to objects or practices that
> help them (e.g., "wheelchair bound" vs. "wheelchair user").
>
> I hope this helps, and I look forward to any discussion on the topic. As
> promised, here are a few good articles:
> NIH:
> https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/science-health-public-trust/perspec
> tives/writing-respectfully-person-first-identity-first-language
> Association of Health Care Journalists:
> https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2019/07/identity-first-vs-person-first-lan
> guage-is-an-important-distinction/
> Autistic Self-Advocacy Network:
> https://autisticadvocacy.org/about-asan/identity-first-language/
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jack Reidy (he/him)
> Chair of DCHAS Membership Committee
> Asst. Chemical Hygiene Officer, Stanford University
> Tel: (650) 497-7614
>
> I acknowledge that the land on which I live and work is the ancestral and
> unceded land of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. As an uninvited guest on these
> lands, I am a beneficiary of the ongoing displacement of the Ohlone people.
> I pay my respects to the Native peoples, past and present.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Doug Walters <waltersdbw**At_Symbol_Here**gmail.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2023 10:25 AM
> To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU
> Subject: Question??
>
> Hi Pat,
>
> Questionre: attachment from C&EN (Oct. 16, 2023, p 21)
>
> I understand , as C&EN illustrates, the proper term is" people with
> disabilities," etc.
>
> But I do not understand the sentence above what states the proper usage term
> is "autistic person."
>
> Can you enlighten me? Am I misreading what they printed?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Doug
>
>
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