Autism-related language preferences of English-speaking individuals across the globe: A mixed methods investigation.
Ask each autistic adult which terms feel right and use only those words in all your paperwork and speech.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Keating et al. (2023) asked autistic adults around the world which words they want others to use.
They mixed numbers and open comments so people could explain why a term felt right or wrong.
Everyone spoke English, but they lived in many countries.
What they found
Most autistic adults liked identity-first words such as “autistic person.”
No single term made everyone happy.
People said the only safe rule is to ask each adult what they prefer and then use those exact words.
How this fits with other research
Kenny et al. (2016) found the same split in the United Kingdom seven years earlier, so the new study shows the pattern holds across the globe.
Baker et al. (2025) counted language in research abstracts and saw most scientists still write “person with autism.” That looks like a clash, but it is not: scientists lag behind community preference, not the other way around.
Vassos et al. (2023) adds why the split exists—autistic adults who feel stronger autism pride pick identity-first terms, while those who face more stigma often dislike them. Keating et al. (2023) confirms the simple fix: just ask.
Why it matters
Your intake form can include one line: “What words should we use to talk about your autism?” Write the answer in big letters at the top of the chart and use those words in every note, report, and team meeting. It costs nothing and shows respect from day one.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Over the past two decades, there have been increasing discussions around which terms should be used to talk about autism. Whilst these discussions have largely revolved around the suitability of identity-first language and person-first language, more recently this debate has broadened to encompass other autism-related terminology (e.g., 'high-functioning'). To date, academic studies have not investigated the language preferences of autistic individuals outside of the United Kingdom or Australia, nor have they compared levels of endorsement across countries. Hence, the current study adopted a mixed-methods approach, employing both quantitative and qualitative techniques, to explore the linguistic preferences of 654 English-speaking autistic adults across the globe. Despite variation in levels of endorsement between countries, we found that the most popular terms were similar-the terms 'Autism', 'Autistic person', 'Is autistic', 'Neurological/Brain Difference', 'Differences', 'Challenges', 'Difficulties', 'Neurotypical people', and 'Neurotypicals' were consistently favored across countries. Despite relative consensus across groups, both our quantitative and qualitative data demonstrate that there is no universally accepted way to talk about autism. Our thematic analysis revealed the reasons underlying participants' preferences, generating six core themes, and illuminated an important guiding principle-to respect personal preferences. These findings have significant implications for informing practice, research and language policy worldwide.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2023 · doi:10.1037/10589-000