what do you call yourself?
I use the descriptor autistic person or autistic adult because as far as I know most prefer to be referred to as an autistic person/adult rather than person/adult with autism. (The identifying hashtag on Twitter is #actuallyautistic, for example.) There are also autism spectrum disorder individual or asd individual versus individual with asd or individual with autism spectrum disorder. Some may just say they're on the spectrum perhaps preferring not to label themselves as disordered.
Some people like additional labels like high functioning, aspergers, autism(classic) while others may think those labels are not really valid. A non-verbal autistic person is usually considered low functioning but if they develop a method of communication they might then be considered more 'functioning' than a speaking autistic person who may have other issues. It is after all a spectrum and not a scale from high to low.
Regardless I believe however a person chooses to refer to themselves is correct.
What do you think?
This was created by Sara an autistic woman who has created a wonderful Exhibition on mental illness and autism @ https://pebbelart.wordpress.com/