During your Presidential Debate with Mitt Romney when you said the two words: an “Autistic Kid”, it made me feel insulted and hurt. When I was young, I was labeled and made fun of by the bullies, but I try not to let it get to me, I focused on the positive, instead of the negative.
Have you ever heard about “First Person Centered Language”? It is better to put the person first and the disability second. Instead of saying an “Autistic Kid”, which has a negative impact on the child and his or her entire family, “A kid with Autism” is much more sensitive by not identifying a person based on their disability. By using “First Person Centered Language” we are acknowledging the person instead of labeling them.
Check out the link: http://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/552012/pdf/20120411_Autism_A