Making my way across our school, I hear friends teasing each other and think little of it. But as I descend down the hall, I hear snippets of, “Are you freaking autistic?!” and “That’s because you’re sped.” The people saying these things aren’t even bullies or inherently bad people, many of them I know to be really nice. And yet, I’m hearing them say these awful misusages and not even thinking they’re being rude.
For those who need the context, autistic is not an offensive term, nor a compliment: it is a fact. A definition of autism by Dictionary.com: “a developmental disability of highly variable presentation, commonly characterized by social and communication differences, repetitive behaviors, intense specialized interests, and differences in sensory processing; autism spectrum disorder.” Sped (or SPED, SpEd) is a much more controversial term; yes, it can be factual, but some consider it to be derogatory or offensive. The factual definition: special education. Special education, like autistic, is neither offensive nor a compliment, only something that can be true or not true. A definition of special education by Dictionary.com: “specialized or modified instruction for students with unique learning needs, especially students with identified disabilities.”
So for someone to say either of these as an insult is beyond comprehensible to me. It, in my opinion, is equal to discriminating against religion, race, gender, sexuality, and other factual things that make up a person’s identity. Worse, most people saying these things aren’t thinking of it as discrimination, they’re thinking of it as a genuine insult, like calling someone rude or dumb. It’s more than just the phrase, it’s a mindset: if autistic is an insult, if sped is an insult, then those things must be bad. If those things are bad, and I’m not those things, doesn’t that make me better? If those things are bad, and I am those things, doesn’t that make me worse than other people? No, of course not. Which is why people shouldn’t be misusing those words, even if “everyone says it, it’s not a big deal.” It is a big deal, and “everyone” is wrong.
So join me in a movement of respect for humankind: don’t say autistic, sped, or anything else that makes up someone’s identity as an insult. Spread the word.
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