Home / How should I refer to people that have autism?
Ask them how they would like to be referred to. Some people like to be referred to as “autistic” while other prefer to be referred to as a “person on the autism spectrum”. Some like to say they are “on the spectrum”, while many prefer the term “neurodivergent”.
Video
Members of the autism community and their families share lived experience on their autism journeys.
Video Transcription
Autism Community
One of the main things I like to explain is that people with autism have varied abilities and character traits, there’s not one single experience of autism.
— Zoran Bekric
Autism Community
I have Asperger’s syndrome and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And - given the right circumstances - being different is a superpower.
— Greta Thunberg
Autism Community
I would play with numbers in a way that other kids would play with their friends.
— Daniel Tammet
Autism Community
People on the spectrum experience the neurotypical world as relentlessly unpredictable and chaotic, perpetually turned up too loud, and full of people who have little respect for personal space.
— Steve Silberman
Autism Community
Everyone has a mountain to climb and autism has not been my mountain, it has been my opportunity for victory.
— Rachel Barcellona
Autism Community
Although people with autism look like other people physically, we are in fact very different in many ways. We are more like travellers from the distant, distant past. And if, by being here, we could help the people of the world remember what truly matters for the Earth, that would give us a quiet pleasure.
— Naoki Higashida
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