Different words for autism
You may have heard people use a lot of different words to mean autism. In our team we use the terms “autistic” and “autism” wherever possible, as well as “on the spectrum” as these are usually preferred by autistic people themselves.
When we make diagnoses and in our formal reports, we also still use the term “Autism Spectrum Disorder”.
At present, this is the formal diagnostic term that is given in the diagnostic manuals.
You can watch the video below to learn more about these and other terms you may have heard used. You can access a copy of the transcript here.
You can find out more about the views of autistic people on terminology in this video, Our Language of Autism.
There are a wide range of views on how to refer to those who have a diagnosis of autism, and there are no rights and wrongs. As there are a lot of differing views, you might find there are other terms being used by autistic and non-autistic people.
As a team we will try, where possible, to accommodate individual preferences when working with particular children, so please do discuss this with us if you feel strongly about which terms are used.
Last updated30 Jul 2024