The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive



8607 Beyond Person-First Language: Self-Advocacy and the Words We Use


Friday, July 15, 2016: 1:15 PM-2:30 PM
Studio 6 (New Orleans Marriott)
What did we never realize about “person-first” until we came to live with it? Does it documentably facilitate respect, acceptance, and fairness regarding disabilities? A disability self-advocate who is also a disability professional explores some unforeseen impacts and consequences of “person-first” for self-advocates and others.
Many autism self-advocates and others on the spectrum (including a number of autism professionals), are experiencing unexpected personal and professional communication issues and roadblocks to acceptance as a result of language choices which they (and others around them) have been urged to use and and to consider appropriate. These barriers are most noticeable and consequential in adulthood, but have significant effects throughout the lifespan. These difficult interpersonal issues and life skills issues are only beginning to be addressed in the research literature, but are a matter of daily concern and heated discussion for the people whom these issues impact — especially when their concerns and needs intersect with occupational, professional and/or self-advocacy priorities and requirements. Social interactions, education/training, and workplace success may all be impacted by the encouragement of language choices which these individuals do not necessarily experience as reflecting an accurate understanding of their own experiences, or as permitting and facilitating autism acceptance.

Learning Objectives:

  • Discuss how language choices and requirements can have unexpected outcomes for the self-image and acceptance of a child, teen, or adult on the autism spectrum
  • Describe the language choices increasingly made by self-advocates on the autism spectrum, and identify the motivations and reasons behind these choices.

Track: Public Policy/Advocacy

Content Area: Personal Perspectives

Presenters:

Kate Gladstone, M.L.S.
Handwriting Repair/Handwriting That Works

Kate Gladstone, M.L.S. Kate Gladstone is a self-advocate and an internationally respected specialist in handwriting instruction and remediation. Her advocacy work includes publication in the AUTISM ADVOCATE. Her handwriting intervention material includes published courseware as well as peer-reviewed journal publication.

James Williams
Bloom Consulting

James Williams is an adult with autism. He was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3, in 1991. He has written three books featuring characters with autism, travels the United States to lecture on autism, and is a staff member at various anime conventions throughout the United States.