"But the Bumpies Hurt!": Autism and the Importance of Identity-first Language

Through the lens of personal experience, the author recounts her experiences with identity-first and person-first language as a late-diagnosed Autistic woman. She discusses shifts in the diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder, the capitalization of A/autism, and the context within which person-first language emerged. Next, she explores the dangers of a society that forces Autistic people to mask, arguing that person-first language encourages a masking mindset, and uses this context to confront the language the medical, social, complex embodiment, and political/relational models prompt us to use. Ultimately, the author calls for 1) language use that places the preferences of Disabled individuals before the preferences of non-Disabled people and 2) greater use of identity-first language as a strategy for confronting ableism.