Is It Person with Autism or Autistic Person?

    A few weeks ago an autistic person took issue with the fact that I used "person with autism" and "autistic person" interchangeably. The autistic person said that saying "person with autism" was like saying a black person was a "person with blackness" or a gay person was like saying a "person with homosexuality." This is an age-old debate in the autism community of person-first vs identity-first language. Many parents prefer person or child with autism while many adult, particular those in the neurodiverity movement, prefer autistic person. Autism is an identity to those who prefer autistic person

    All these arguments are flawed.

1. It is not "black person", but African-   American. It is not person with    homosexuality, but gay, lesbian, bi, and transgender (LGBT or LGBTQ)

2. What the autistic person did was        discriminatory. To not want to have         anything to do with anyone because of one's choice of words is just pain            discriminatory. 

    The autistic person could claim they have freedom of speech or freedom of belief Article 30 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a pivotal document in international human rights, states, "Nothing in this declaration may be interpreted as for any  state, group, or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of the rights and freedoms set forth herein."

    For example, hate groups who sometimes preach overt or covert discrimination might claim free speech under articles 18 & 19, but that free speech is really aimed at the destruction of article 16 regarding discrimination based on region, race, or other opinion.

    So is it "person with autism," or "autistic person?" I do not think it matters because each person needs to decide for himself or herself what language they are going to use.

Thanks for reading my post. Please leave a comment, whether you agree or disagree to drum up some discussion. Thank you!

Support Group Announcement

 Hello everyone,

This week the support group will be Saturday 6 June 2026 at 1:00 pm.  This week we will be meeting at the Eegees located at 243 E Speedway Blvd. The closest street is 5th ave. This week there will be a topic/workshop. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month contiuation from May, I will be doing  part 2 of the 60 minute workshop on creating a mental health maintenance and recovery plan, and the new concept  called a mental healthcare power of attorney. We now have a Google Meet link for those that have an issue leaving their home. It will be up at this meeting. Please see this message's footer for the link. 

See you then

Regards, 

John

Support community location: 243 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ

Community Office Phone: (520) 314-6896

Community web site: www.tucsonautismadvocacy.org

Community  social   networking site: https://www.meetup.com/Tucson-Adult-Autism-Support-.

Google Meet link: To join the video meeting, click this link: https://meet.google.com/hnz-opbt-mos

Children of the Stars

 

   The organization Autism China says that "autism and China are seldom heard together." Children with Autism in China are often called children of the stars. Some claim that the term is pejorative but it is not. It is a poetic, affectionate term referring to these autistic children. Children of the Stars is also the name of a 2007 50 minute long documentary about autistic children in the People's Republic of China at the Stars and Rain School, a school for autistic children. The documentary seems to not be available on DVD or streaming but the trailer can be found here.  

    The documentary follows 5 year old Feng Jia Wei and his parents who traveled across China to enroll their son in the school that is also the first NGO dedicated school to autistic children. A long synopsis of the documentary can be found here. Even more recently, new advances have been made in neuroscience using accupuncture in treating autistic children with co-occuring conditions.

    Nevertheless, The children of the stars is fraught with issues. The mother of Zi Han tells her story. The mother who chose to remain anonymous thought her world collasped. The mother stated that children are often disallowed from participating in regular school with other children.

    In conclusion, let us embrace the children of the stars and adult autistics in China as we embrace the rest of the world's autistic children and adults.

Thanks for reading my post. Please leave a comment, whether you agree or disagree to drum up some discussion. Thank you!

Traveling with Children Who Have Autism: Does the TSA Cares Program Work?

 

    Traveling with autistic children, especially  when flying can be potentially probematic. For example, the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) has a TSA Cares program. Does the program work? TSA thinks is does. This is how it works. If a person with special needs, including autism needs an accomodation a request is submitted by phone or online at least 72 hours before the flight. Once arranged a pasenger support specialist will meet the parent and child at the ticketing area and perform the accomodation. There is a Reddit post where the poster had a positive experience with the TSA Cares program. 

    Organizations like the Washington Autism Alliance also looked favorably upon the TSA Cares program. TSA even has a notification card for those with special conditions. Despite the views some might have of TSA, whether negative or positive, the TSA Cares program works.

Thanks for reading my post. Please leave a comment, whether you agree or disagree to drum up some discussion. Thank you!