Is the word 'Asperger's' regarded as offensive?
firemonkey
Citizen
in General ASD
I've not heard it is,but that doesn't mean much.
Widely used but considered offensive to the majority of the autistic community.
Comments
(Note: The "Aspie supremacist" line of thinking is different than just believing Asperger's Syndrome is a "higher functioning" version of autism. People who cling onto the term Asperger's/Aspie because they have an aversion to being considered "autistic" don't think they have autism and usually think of "actual" autistic people as all "low functioning".)
Asperger's Syndrome is still an actual diagnosis in a lot of places though. The controversy with that diagnosis/term is mainly in places that use the DSM5, where "Asperger's Syndrome" is just part of Autism Spectrum Disorder now.
Having both ASD +severe mental illness it's not easy to tell how much or how little is due to either diagnosis. I have no issues with using either ASD or Asperger's.
I think people who are averse to the use of "Asperger's" are just frustrated with the select few Aspies who cling to the diagnosis as a way to distance themselves from autism, and who view themselves as "better" than other autistic people and even NTs. I don't think those few people should affect how the rest of the ASD community treats people who still use the Asperger's label and are diagnosed with it still, though.
Hylian said:
This is something that annoys me a great deal too. Apparently, the only way some people can feel good about themselves is by putting others down.
I have no problem with the term Asperger Syndrome and don't think it's offensive.
I was diagnosed in 2019 and since I'm in the U.S., it was after Asperger Syndrome was no longer recognized in the DSM V. I have thought about had I been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome say, ten years ago and then learned that my diagnosis (and in a certain aspect part of my identity) was erased, I would actually have found THAT offensive.
I'm sure there was no ill intent intended but I've thought that if there had been, it would have been a cruel joke to take a group of people who are typically very "black and white" in their thinking and very rule based and then switching things up on them by erasing their diagnosis. A bad move to make that kind of change to such a group of people.