A deep dive into the spectrum of Autistic experience and the phenomenon of masked Autism, …
Autistics are a diverse group, though, and we don't all have to agree on which terms we like and dislike having used for ourselves. If you are Autistic, you get to decide what language works best for you. Some people prefer to say they are "on the spectrum," for example, rather than strictly Autistic. Others identify as having Asperger's, though that disorder label no longer exists, and was rooted in Hans Asperger's eugenicist research. (...)
I find it’s far more important to question the belief that supposedly “higher functioning” Autistic lives matter more than others than it is to scrub all people’s language of outdated or problematic terms. Additionally, it is vital that the disability self-advocacy community remain accessible to all people of all ability levels. That requires we extend grace and understanding to people who don’t communicate exactly the way we might like them to.
