Autistic People's Perspectives on Functioning Labels and Associated Reasons, and Community Connectedness

Area of Science:

• Neurodiversity studies
• Social psychology of language

Background:

• Functioning labels are used to differentiate support needs within the autistic community.
• Understanding language preferences is crucial for respectful communication and identity affirmation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify autistic perspectives on language used to describe being autistic and functioning.
• To investigate how community connectedness influences the acceptability of language and functioning labels.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to 516 autistic respondents.
• Questions covered demographic characteristics, preferred terminology for autistic people, and acceptability of various labels (e.g., person with autism, autistic).
• Respondents' Autistic Community Connectedness and views on functioning labels were assessed.

Main Results:

• 97% of respondents found the term "autistic" acceptable.
• Respondents using functioning labels for others did not necessarily use them for themselves.
• Community membership significantly impacted language preferences for describing autistic support needs.

Conclusions:

• The optimal approach to language preferences is to choose terms least offensive or disagreeable, rather than seeking consensus.
• Identity-first language is preferred over other forms.
• Functioning labels should be avoided.