Does anybody else absolutely hate the term "aspie(s)"

[Tia_Vali]

I absolutely hate the term "aspie(s)". It has such a diminishing quality to it. It makes us sound like such insignificant little things ... and we definitely aren't. I know you're going to ask, "Well then, what should we be called / call ourselves?". I don't know. I don't have ALL the answers (just MOST of them! hahaha). But one thing I DO know is I don't like this term "aspie". ugghhh ...

 

[LogicalMind]

Intellectual elitists? Socially reclusives? Eccentric creatives?

 

[JamesBon92007]

Aliens? Aspie is a lot catchier than "pervasive developmental disorder" or "autism spectrum disorder" or whatever other terms they come up with. Personally I don't feel like I have a developmental disorder, it's more like the NTs are the ones that are lacking, at least in many respects. I'm thinking they are behind us on the evolutionary ladder.

So no, it doesn't bother me.

 

[Tia_Vali]

Intellectual elitists? Socially reclusives? Eccentric creatives?

Yeah, maybe that ... all in one title! hahaha

 

[Judge]

I've never much cared what we or they call ourselves given the disparity between Neurotypicals (some of them hate that term as well) and Neurodiverse people.

Simply put, go out onto the street and ask the first person you see if they like the term "Aspie". It's a forgone conclusion that in most cases they won't likely know what you're even talking about.

 

[Tia_Vali]

Aliens? Aspie is a lot catchier than "pervasive developmental disorder" or "autism spectrum disorder" or whatever other terms they come up with. Personally I don't feel like I have a developmental disorder, it's more like the NTs are the ones that are lacking, at least in many respects. I'm thinking they are behind us on the evolutionary ladder.

So no, it doesn't bother me.

I definitely don't see it as a developmental disorder/delay. And I agree that we may be something MORE developed than NT's, or at least more developed in certain areas, which I think gives us distinct abilities and advantages. I also don't care for the clinical terms often applied to us. But "aspie(s)" still sucks.

 

[Tia_Vali]

I've never much cared what we or they call ourselves given the disparity between Neurotypicals (some of them hate that term as well) and Neurodiverse people.

Simply put, go out onto the street and ask the first person you see if they like the term "Aspie". It's a forgone conclusion that in most cases they won't likely know what you're even talking about.

It doesn't matter whether THEY know. I know. And it's not NTs calling us that. It's specifically ALL OVER sites and forums about Asperger's.

 

[Tia_Vali]

Yeah, "aliens", JamesBon92007. That's a good one. I've often said I wonder if I'm half alien sometimes!

 

[Judge]

It doesn't matter whether THEY know. I know. And it's not NTs calling us that. It's specifically ALL OVER sites and forums about Asperger's.

I disagree. Race, creed , neurological profile, whatever.

People of an alike kind don't need such verbage so much to identify themselves or each other. On the other hand those who sense we are different in some way do need some kind of common way to reference it. Otherwise they're apt to find unsuitable or even derogatory terms to make up the difference. That's when it is problematic. Though admittedly, some will no matter what they are informed.

We on the spectrum know who and what we are- with or without a label. Though it won't change that it's protocols like the DSM-V and ICD that ultimately control such terms medically and formally speaking.

 

[Alaska]

"Aspies" - we can love the label or hate it, but we need something to make it easier to talk to each other to discuss what we have in common. Aspies is a lot easier to say or keyboard than other jargon.

I happen to feel good about the Aspies name because it is how I first came to begin to understand and accept this collection of abilities, traits, and problems that came with my package.

Aspies was described as a word invented by Aspies and that makes me like it even more.

 

[SomeRandomAspie]

Aliens? Aspie is a lot catchier than "pervasive developmental disorder" or "autism spectrum disorder" or whatever other terms they come up with. Personally I don't feel like I have a developmental disorder, it's more like the NTs are the ones that are lacking, at least in many respects. I'm thinking they are behind us on the evolutionary ladder.

So no, it doesn't bother me.

I also feel a little superior in some aspects, honestly, in a society where everybody is like us would be extremely efficient. I don't think I would like it however because I would be average.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I definitely don't see it as a developmental disorder/delay. And I agree that we may be something MORE developed than NT's, or at least more developed in certain areas, which I think gives us distinct abilities and advantages. I also don't care for the clinical terms often applied to us. But "aspie(s)" still sucks.

I was just reading the thread:
What's Your IQ? (Free-IQTest)

It's full of Aspies with scores well-above gifted and many in the upper stratosphere. I see being brilliant as a plus!

At one point in my life I was looking for answers so I investigated Mensa. Well, they had/have a "cutoff" point of about IQ 132. Anyone lower they consider to not be "intelligent." To me that is ludicrous--the dumbest person on the planet knows something that I don't know so he/she has something they can teach me. So, investigating further, I found a spin-off group called the Triple 9 Society. Only people who scored above 99.999% of the general population could join (I qualified so that was a sizable ego boost ). Well, that leaves out everyone in Mensa who scored below 164. In the USA that would be about 321,000 people that qualify. My bet would be that almost all of them are Aspies. I think it's what you do with what you have that determines if you are intelligent or not, but it does make things easier sometimes if you are "gifted."

 

[OlLiE]

if we had to have a specific name for every distinct group of people characterised by common weaknesses and strengths i think we would have a problem,

as for Aspie, i don't feel that there is any implication of inferiority in the name

i am also 'gifted' but i don't think in any way that intelligence is the exclusive domain of aspies, and i am careful about designating so or so group as superior because it implies another group of people is inferior, usually according to the (biased) standards applied by the superior group.

re mensa, i believe they target the top 2% in iq, i don't know into what iq number that translates into, at the end of the day if that's how they want their club, that's their business, i don't see any reason to feel upset about that, i'm in the top 5% and have about a 65% chance test to pass their entry test based on the indicative test on their website, nice to know but it doesn't make any more or less happy

i prefer to think that every person or group of people have strengths and weaknesses, each however can develop and use his or her specificity to find happiness and fulfilment in life, all this judgement of others and comparing with others gets no one anywhere, creating your own self worth at the expense of others is a hollow victory

 

[Tia_Vali]

"People of an alike kind don't need such verbage so much to identify themselves or each other. On the other hand those who sense we are different in some way do need some kind of common way to reference it."

OK, I totally agree with your above referenced statement. BUT it makes NO sense as a response to my original question.

If WE don't need such terminology to identify OURSELVES (and I agree that we don't) ... AND, supposedly, only "others" really need such terminology to identify us ... then WHY is this obnoxious, diminutive term "aspies" being applied to us OVERWHELMINGLY by others LIKE us on sites FOR us?

In other words ... I don't see this term floating all over the neurotypical world (because, quite frankly, most of them have little to no awareness of us). I DO, however, see the term used ALL OVER sites for us, by us.

 

[Streetwise]

i dislike it because Hans asperger collaborated with the NAZIS his daughter denies it
and it sounds childish i like plain neurodiverse sounds intriguing

I absolutely hate the term "aspie(s)". It has such a diminishing quality to it. It makes us sound like such insignificant little things ... and we definitely aren't. I know you're going to ask, "Well then, what should we be called / call ourselves?". I don't know. I don't have ALL the answers (just MOST of them! hahaha). But one thing I DO know is I don't like this term "aspie". ugghhh ...

 

[Judge]

WHY is this obnoxious, diminutive term "aspies" being applied to us OVERWHELMINGLY by others LIKE us on sites FOR us?

Actually the mods should merge this thread into one we already have for this subject. Which also covers the origins of the term by autistic author Liane Holliday Willey who first coined it in back in the 90s as I recall.

Clearly the term stuck, like it or not. Five pages of arguments in the past, and we're all still using it.

Anyone is certainly free to argue the point, but it's doubtful anything will come of it.

Anyone else dislike the term "Aspie"?

 

[JamesBon92007]

". then WHY is this obnoxious, diminutive term "aspies" being applied to us OVERWHELMINGLY by others LIKE us on sites FOR us?

In other words ... I don't see this term floating all over the neurotypical world (because, quite frankly, most of them have little to no awareness of us). I DO, however, see the term used ALL OVER sites for us, by us.

I seem to be missing the "obnoxious, diminutive" aspect of the term "Aspie." I don't ever recall reading it being used in a derogatory manner. I guess what I was trying to say is that society needs to categorize people in different ways and each category can have sub-categories and what may work for one group fails for another group. If we were to have very specific requirements (such as a AS score of 140 or higher) for someone to be referred to as an "Aspie" then many of us might not fit the definition. And from another perspective what if an Aspie has a very high ND score but also had a comparatively high NT score, say 90 or something (I'm not sure this is possible, but my scores add up to 213). Would that disqualify them because they are just too NT? To me someone qualifies to be called or to call them-self an Aspie because they think or know they are whether they took a quiz or not. To me the quizzes are just what most of them say they are: an indication. My age alone probably influences my score. If I had taken the same quiz 40 years ago I probably would have scored higher on ND and lower on the NT side. This is because I have learned how to act "normal" and it changes the way I answer the questions. So, what does all of this have to do with your original question? To me this has become a term of acceptance by us and for us with the understanding and realization that we are in many ways different and in many ways the same, and some of the similarities have various degrees of neurotypical and neurodiverse behavior but we all fit into ONE category. I am very new here so if you have some examples of "Aspie" being used to indicate that we are somehow inferior please post your examples as I am simply unaware of it. IMHO you have every right to not like it if you don't want to. Do you personally view Aspies as being inferior?

 

[MonolithImmortal]

It's probably the "ie" ending. It sound kiddish. Kind of like Robbie vs Rob or Robert. I'm not a huge fan of "Aspie" only because I don't like the actual sound of the word. I'd prefer Aspergian. I kind of favor Autist/Autistic too.

 

[Dadwith2Autisticsons]

After reading the original post, we just asked our son if he was an Aspie. His answer was "No, my name is Aaron." So, as small children and the aged often keep things simple and speak the truth, as society has not warped them yet regarding the former, and as the elderly often revert back to childlike or speaking with honesty without worry, let's focus on each person as a unique person, instead as part of a category.

For instance, I can often get lumped in with other NTs, if I am not on the Spectrum. Personally, that implies I have a set of stereotypical traits and beliefs they have, yet that is furthest from the truth. Let each person define what they want to be called. If one wants to just call themself by their name, or their own nickname, good for them. If one likes that other group term, that is ok, too. Or make up some other term.

Many housewives for instance do not like the term housewives, so they call themselves domestic engineers. Whatever makes them happy, so be it. Society will be so set in their ways anyways what that means, so it is up to each person to determine what they want to call themselves, but when creating forums it is often needed to come up with a group name that is often somewhat indicative what the group is about. Outside of this group I never heard the Aspie term, so in society typical persons would not see you as an Aspie.

 

[Manuheleku]

I Don't have an issue with it, I like the term much better than ASS-BURGERS. I really don't like that. I make a point of pronouncing the P in ASPERGERS.