[Poll] use of the term "aspie"

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The results will probably be overwhelming to one side but I have personal objections to the term "aspie" Even a term adopted by a group of people for themselves can have its detractors within such a group.

I object to the "ie" suffix as one would not use such a suffix for other conditions such as Down's Syndrome.

The term "aspergian" is less bothersome to me but I prefer no label.

I could swear the term "aspie" was coined by the AS-community, not by neurotypicals, so rather than a label that's slapped onto another, it's a way of identifying oneself.

A rose by any other name...

I think it's really ugly sounding and I don't use it, but it's not something that other people call us.

I only use it to describe myself and my AS within my group of close friends and family. Otherwise I describe myself as autistic.

Also, we use it to describe our behaviours at times, rather teasingly in good humour. for example, when my Dad obsesses over a very minor alignment on a bookshelf he's building, we'll say he's "being aspie".
Also when I'm "regressing", I'll warn my roomies that I'm "being aspie", to indicate that I'm having more troubles with AS-specific areas than usual. So that they don't worry about me.
Again, this is only used with close people who know what I'm talking about and who's good humoured about it.

I only use it with close family or close friends that have it to and it's usually said in a jokey way

Whether it is Aspie or Autie, I don't mind. It is better than being called a da--ed puzzle. I'm a person, not a puzzle.

I certainly prefer aspie as the term to use. I believe it was coined within the community. I'd be happy for it to be adopted by people outside the community, as well.

Being as it is a diminutive term, it would not have any "scare" value to them.

The same applies to "autie". I wouldn't be fussed to be be called that as well as, or instead of, aspie. I do tend to distinguish the two, but I think that's just a historical divide, based on a minor aspect of the diagnosis.

Also note that I use it without a capital letter. I find this also shows that I want it to be treated as "just a word". It obviously has an etymology that stems from Hans, but it is to be taken as a partner word to "autie".

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The term "Aspergian" I feel as aggressive, conceited, showy, and lots more negative terms that spring to mind, from time to time. Users of that word seem to insist on its capitalisation.

To be fair, I've created the sister poll...

i do not identify with the term "aspie"
it is like a caricature similar to "capser the friendly ghost" in my mind.

i am not much drawn to abbreviations and caricatures.

I dislike it. I usually keep to using Autist in German. Or Asperger-Autist.

I prefer the lack of a similar noun in English.

It's hard to believe people say 'aspie' in everyday situations to mean people who're affected by the disorder Asperger's Syndrome, a high functioning form of autism. 'aspie' doesn't sound like that to me.

I like how 'autie' sounds. To my ears, it sounds just right as an affectionate term.

Maybe I think so differently about 'aspie' because 'aspie' is often used in a non-affectionate way in a serious discussions.

If it's used in personal conversations or as an affectionate term, I consider it quite cute. Okay to use. Good even, if you're talking to kids.

But it's really irritating to me to have a serious conversation, a talk in front of an audience, a debate over the effect AS (usually) has and then someone comes along and says 'aspie' to mean a person who has AS.

That somehow destroys the whole idea of that AS can be a serious, life-long disability if someone giving an informative talk about this PDD suddenly talks of 'aspies'.

I mean, I don't hear as many people calling others 'psychos' when they talk about psychopaths or about 'schizos' when they're having a serious medical debate about schizophrenia.

I tend not to use the term "aspie" it sounds cutsie. I use Asperger's or autism. I don't separate Asperger's and Autism as a rule but some people do and that is up to them if they want to for their peace of mind I guess. Being diagnosed with a spectrum disorder was difficult, being diagnosed with one that resembled "ass-burger" in name added it's own slight twist because of possibly having to add an explanation to the name. It's a very non American sounding name

It's a German name. (yeah, Austrian guy, German language) In dutch, "asperge" (without the "r" at the end) means asparagus and I've met several people who misquoted the disorder as "Asparagus Syndrome". That's what prevented me from using it at first, though nowadays, I simply make sure to pronounce it clearly in order to avoid frowns.

I realize that it's a German name, lol, thank you.

Asperg is a town in Germany. Maybe that's the root of Dr. Hans' last name, so an "Asperger" would be a person from Asperg? His family may have come from there long ago?