Autism-related language preferences of English-speaking individuals across the globe: A mixed methods investigation.

This study asked 654 autistic adults from different countries what language they prefer when talking about autism. Most people liked terms like 'autistic person' and 'autism' rather than alternatives. While preferences were similar across countries, there's no single 'right' way to talk about autism. The key finding is that we should respect each person's individual language preferences.

This mixed-methods study examined language preferences of 654 English-speaking autistic adults across multiple countries. The research investigated preferences for identity-first versus person-first language and other autism-related terminology. Despite some variation between countries, consistent preferences emerged for terms like 'Autism', 'Autistic person', 'Is autistic', 'Neurological/Brain Difference', 'Differences', 'Challenges', 'Difficulties', 'Neurotypical people', and 'Neurotypicals'. Thematic analysis identified six core themes explaining preferences and revealed a guiding principle of respecting personal preferences.

The study found no universally accepted way to discuss autism, highlighting the importance of individual choice in language use.

Professionals should ask autistic individuals about their preferred terminology rather than assuming. Training programs should emphasize respecting personal language preferences. Clinical documentation and communication should be adapted to individual preferences where possible.

Study limited to English-speaking participants. Sample size per country not specified. Abstract doesn't detail methodology rigor or potential selection biases. Unclear how participants were recruited across different countries.

Over the past two decades, there have been increasing discussions around which terms should be used to talk about autism. Whilst these discussions have largely revolved around the suitability of identity-first language and person-first language, more recently this debate has broadened to encompass other autism-related terminology (e.g., 'high-functioning'). To date, academic studies have not investigated the language preferences of autistic individuals outside of the United Kingdom or Australia, nor have they compared levels of endorsement across countries. Hence, the current study adopted a mixed-methods approach, employing both quantitative and qualitative techniques, to explore the linguistic preferences of 654 English-speaking autistic adults across the globe.

Despite variation in levels of endorsement between countries, we found that the most popular terms were similar-the terms 'Autism', 'Autistic person', 'Is autistic', 'Neurological/Brain Difference', 'Differences', 'Challenges', 'Difficulties', 'Neurotypical people', and 'Neurotypicals' were consistently favored across countries. Despite relative consensus across groups, both our quantitative and qualitative data demonstrate that there is no universally accepted way to talk about autism. Our thematic analysis revealed the reasons underlying participants' preferences, generating six core themes, and illuminated an important guiding principle-to respect personal preferences. These findings have significant implications for informing practice, research and language policy worldwide.