Politically correct or intellectually rude??

[loyalsister]

42. Some people do

"Is the problem that they think 'being autistic' defines them as *only* autistic whereas 'having autism' means they are other things besides their autism?" Exactly.

I would say that my friend who is a dancer has diabetes. If you initially describe him as "diabetic," you're overshadowing something that is interesting and exciting about the person with an unfortunate part of their life. I apply this construct to anyone who has a disability so that they can identify themselves by the qualities that they want to define them.

They want to be seen as a person who is MORE than the experience that alienates them socially and is the cause of discrimination.
Yes a person will always have Autism, but people won't necessarily always know it so, for some it's relevance is not so constant that it should define them.
Notice that it is generally INVISIBLE (unlike skin tone). When you use autistic, or in my case epileptic, it takes something personal and private that some perceive as negative and makes it the very definition of me.
The word "epilpetic" is used to describe the brain waves that indicate some potential malfunction. I don't want to be defined by those intermittent neurological mishaps. To me the difference between having misfires on occasion and being clinically labeled first and foremost by neurological errors that show up on my EEG is important.
The disabling fact that I have to take extremely expensive medication presents an imposed limitation on my opportunities.

The word disabled is different. A person is "disabled" not so much because of their impairment (people who are deaf often don't see themselves as disabled). The only thing disabling about deafness is that hearing people can't\won't include them in conversation\information dispersion. Some things that are disabling about Diabetes or some other disabilities is the expense and social differences that it imposes upon a person's lifestyle. A person who uses a wheelchair operates just as well as any person who walks, but is disabled when they encounter stairs, doors that don't open easily, etc.