According to the CDC, 2.21% of US adults are autistic, meaning 5,701,800 people. That’s likely not even counting all the undiagnosed. Writing them well, then, or even referring to them in a casual real-life conversation, is an important skill.
If you’re reading this article, I’m assuming you want to counteract harmful, or simply wrong, information about autistic people. You want to make sure you’re not using language or insinuations that are offensive or propagate stereotypes. You want to show compassion to autistic people in your writing, and use the terms they prefer. And thank you for that! We need more people like you in the world.
Let’s get into it—as writing about autism is a little more complicated than you may think.
1. Terms
1.1. How do you refer to autistic people in general?
To begin, most of us prefer to be referred to as an “autistic person” rather than a “person with autism.” Not all of us, however, which makes it a little complicated. You should therefore always defer to whichever term the individual you’re referring to prefers.
However, don’t insist on calling all of us “people with autism” as if that’s the most compassionate answer since it separates our autism from who we are (with autism, instead of autistic being used as a direct adjective). Most of us do consider autism to be an important part of us, and therefore prefer “autistic person.”
So, if you’re referring to the general group of us, call us “autistic people” or “the autistic community.” You can also use those alongside “person with autism,” if you wish, to be inclusive of everyone. Defer to the individual for their term, but if you’re referring to all of us, this is the best way to do it.
Another common term you’ve likely heard, “Asperger’s,” is outdated. It was a term used by the Nazis to identify autistic people that were autistic but still “useful” to society, so it has ableist origins. If someone identifies with that term, you can use it for them, as it was an actual diagnosis people used to receive, but again, don’t use it for all autistic people in the modern day.
One last thing: if you’re writing fiction, please do name that your character’s autistic, if it’s possible. For people who aren’t well-off white boys, it can be difficult getting that diagnosis, or even just considering you could be autistic at all. By giving readers an example to compare themselves to, you may just help an undiagnosed autistic reader realize why they feel so different from their peers. You may help them learn there are others like them, and there are better ways to manage their challenges that take their autism into account.
1.2 How do you refer to autism itself?
To begin, call autism a condition and not a disorder. Though it’s technically called autism spectrum disorder, “disorder” insinuates that autism is something wrong with us, which many autistic people find offensive or simply don’t believe. Our challenges largely stem from how other people and institutions treat us, not from the condition itself.
However, like previous terms, some autistic people really do prefer it called a disorder. They feel “disorder” validates their challenges, and fear that if it’s simply called a “condition,” people won’t see autism as a disability anymore, causing them to lose their needed accommodations.
Therefore, again, defer to the person’s (or character’s, if writing fiction) preference, but if you want to make the most people happy, call it a condition.
Finally, here are a few smaller terms to keep in mind: call the differences that autism causes in us autistic traits and not symptoms. And don’t call our differences deficits but just that—differences. We also don’t struggle with our autism, but have challenges because of it.
In general, use words that refer to autism as a positive or neutral condition, instead of a disease that breaks people.
1.3 How do you distinguish between “severities” of autism?
This is where it gets particularly tricky. Many autistics agree that the term “high/low functioning” is poor. Someone supposedly “high functioning” could have many unseen challenges, and labeling someone as “low functioning” could make people think poorly of them. Most autistic people don’t like “more/less autistic” either, except in a joking manner, because all autistic people are autistic. There isn’t a scale of autism.
The best term, currently, is “low/medium/high support needs,” as it focuses more on the needs of autistic people and less on how well they “function” in allistic (non-autistic) society, without the insinuations that certain levels are lesser people. However, even this term isn’t perfect. Autism is a spectrum, so people may need greater support needs in some areas and less support needs in others. Their support needs can also vary by day and by situation. Therefore, most autistic people don’t think this is the best way to refer to the diversity in their condition, either.
Perhaps one day there will be a better term, but for now, this is what we have.
Instead, ask yourself—do you really need to explicitly tell readers how much support your autistic person/character needs? Is it necessary for readers’ understanding of your writing piece? If it isn’t, don’t label it. In fact, if your manuscript is long enough, you should be able to show instead of tell this information, meaning instead of using an explicit term to state it, you describe the character going about their life and what they need in their day.
2. Insinuations
2.1 What shouldn’t you imply about autistic people?
First, like I hinted at under the previous category, don’t insinuate that autism is “tragic” or a “disease.” Autistic people are capable of living happy, fulfilling lives. Most autistic people, in fact, don’t want to be “cured” of their autism; they’re perfectly happy with it. It’s a positive or neutral part of them.
Going a step further, don’t insinuate that autism is “not normal.” for example, don’t say, “Autistic people are like _____, but normal people do _____.” Autism is a natural part of neurodiversity. If you want to refer to non-autistic people, simply say “non-autistic” or “allistic.” So, you can say, “Autistic people are like ______, but allistic people do ________.” Just be sure you’re not implying that the thing the autistic people do is weird.
Writing about autism can be tricky. Different autistic people have different preferences for how they want to be referred to. But the terms and insinuations I provided above should make the most people happy.
When it comes to individuals, however, always refer to them with the terms and insinuations they prefer.
This subject has changed over time, though, and will likely continue to change as better terms are introduced and the culture shifts. As such, though you should always refer to individuals how they would like, continued research on this topic in regards to the autistic community as a whole is important. Say, do it once a year. I will do my best to keep things up to date on my website, but don’t believe me just because I talk like I’m the expert. Look into other resources that champion autistic voices, resources that are written or headed by other autistic people. Look at all of us.
If you’re looking for more information on writing autistic characters, please check out this article on autistic stereotypes and this article on disability stereotypes. They will teach you how to write about autistic characters in broader ways.
I also offer sensitivity reading services for autism, general ableism/disability, and other topics, for any piece that’s exclusively text. If you want to make sure you’re writing about autism well, click here to find out more!
Do you have experience with autism? Comment below!
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