Autism... with a capital ‘A’ or a little ‘a’?

At Now, Next & Then we have discussed this extensively and want to let you know our thinking. It’s been an interesting dilemma for us and we know it’s a topic that has people deliberating far and wide which it should be. 

We believe – and have had it reinforced by our many families – just how important it is to acknowledge that autism is part of who someone is; it’s not what they are and certainly, it’s not an add on. That’s exactly why you will always see us refer to someone having had their ‘autism identified’ and never someone who ‘has been diagnosed with autism’. And autistic people who relish or value this concept often like to use a big ‘A’. Then there are others who are not (yet) of that thinking and for them, a little ‘a’ is just fine. And so you can see that we’ve been going round in circles, not knowing which we should use.

The other challenge to our deliberation is that, as a company, we have to take our guidance from diagnostic manuals and people who know far better than we do, such as the DSM 5, NICE guidelines and the National Autistic Society (NAS) which help give us our clarity; particularly important for those of us who are registered health professionals. These sources inform us that autism and autism spectrum disorder are with little ‘a’s, which helps us to conclude the uncertainty we have been debating. However, this leads to yet another dilemma… is it ASD or ASC? The socially informed answer is ASC, but again, this is not what our references tell us is correct. So throughout our website and in our written work, and with the greatest respect, its ASD that you’ll see.

We fully embrace and respect people’s identity so it follows that, as we pride ourselves on being child (and person) centred, when it comes to individuals, we want to use whichever is right for you and your child. If you have a preference for autism or Autism then please let us know.

It's confusing, isn’t it? Please know that terminology aside, we celebrate every autistic person we know and love that we have so many inspirational children and young people to help us strive for getting things like this right.

Emma Puttock 
Occupational Therapist