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Little things
The phrase 'person with autism' probably counts as a pet peeve of mine. Phrasing like that frames it as something external which afflicts an otherwise 'normal' person and locks em away from the otherwise healthy and social life ey might otherwise have lived. I associate it strongly with pathologisation and cure-oriented thought.
Why write this now? Because I am poking around a charity to see if it is something I might want to support and their website is littered with the phrase. It grates on me every time I read it.
The event itself and affiiates do seem more focused on living support and helping programs - hopefully ones which are actually helpful and not abusive - rather than cure research, but it is jarring to be smacked in the face with 'disorder' so many times over such a short interval. One site even renamed it 'Asperger's disorder' from 'Asperger's syndrome'. Really, you're going to do that?
Also jarring to look at organisations ostensibly for my benefit but not... for me. Aimed at people other than the ones they ostensibly serve.
"The privilege of working with our client group is that participation in one of our programs is as enjoyable and fun as any leisure activity outside of work. Coupled with the fact that many people find volunteering satisfying and rewarding, we think that volunteers will find an authentic and meaningful way to spend their time whilst making a difference. The nature of our programs means that we are literally lucky enough to find the time to stop and smell the roses."
"The aims of this program are to:
introduce our clients to a wider circle of people;
increase community awareness of autism;
provide a positive, effective and satisfying way for volunteers to meet people with disabilities."
I... wasn't aware that providing services for autistic people is also a convenient way for normal people to meet some pleasant exotics.
Why write this now? Because I am poking around a charity to see if it is something I might want to support and their website is littered with the phrase. It grates on me every time I read it.
The event itself and affiiates do seem more focused on living support and helping programs - hopefully ones which are actually helpful and not abusive - rather than cure research, but it is jarring to be smacked in the face with 'disorder' so many times over such a short interval. One site even renamed it 'Asperger's disorder' from 'Asperger's syndrome'. Really, you're going to do that?
Also jarring to look at organisations ostensibly for my benefit but not... for me. Aimed at people other than the ones they ostensibly serve.
"The privilege of working with our client group is that participation in one of our programs is as enjoyable and fun as any leisure activity outside of work. Coupled with the fact that many people find volunteering satisfying and rewarding, we think that volunteers will find an authentic and meaningful way to spend their time whilst making a difference. The nature of our programs means that we are literally lucky enough to find the time to stop and smell the roses."
"The aims of this program are to:
introduce our clients to a wider circle of people;
increase community awareness of autism;
provide a positive, effective and satisfying way for volunteers to meet people with disabilities."
I... wasn't aware that providing services for autistic people is also a convenient way for normal people to meet some pleasant exotics.
no subject
I have a question for you, then, what about instances where when talking about someone, noting the fact that they're autistic, is important. For example, I work for a news station, and an autistic kid goes missing, and the police issue a media alert, the fact that he is autistic is pretty important to the overall story. Is the preferred method, then, phrasing it as I have "autistic kid" or is there another method that would be better? Granted, I have really no say over how scripts are written, but I can go to the news people and say "you know, I've talked to people who are slightly offended by us using this terminology."
That's what you get when you have marketing people design a website. They're more concerned with furthering themselves than actually being sensitive to and helping others. They're just as bad as sales people, trust me.
Isn't Asperger's Syndrome the actual medical name, though?
no subject
Asperger's syndrome is what it is officially named, yes, so far as I know. The website was calling it Asperger's disorder instead.
no subject