Preference of the terms "Autistic" or "Person with Autism"?

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Just because a word ends in "ic," that's preceded by "She is" or "He is," doesn't mean it's supposed to mean their whole identity.

For example, "I'm athletic." This doesn't define me. It's just a descriptor.
It sounds silly to say, "I have athleticism."

I'm also ARTistic. I don't have artism.

I'm AUTistic. If I say, "I have autism," this comes across as me being condescending to my own self, or being afraid to say it in a way that's more connectiong or intimate. "I have..." creates distance, and this implies that one has not come to terms with their neurodiversity.

I'M AUTISTIC. I'M AN AUTISTIC.

I wonder how many will get this. For those of you who can't make sense of it, it's considered an iconic line in the movie "Airplane," where someone says, "Surely you can't be serious." The other person says, "Yes, I'm serious. And don't call me Shirley."

I'm fine with the term "autistic," but I don't think of autism as a bad thing. Maybe if it was a descriptor I found negative or derogatory, I wouldn't like it to be used in this fashion.

I've found that I prefer being called autistic over any other alternatives and that's how I describe myself as well.

I think it's because my autism is part of who I am and describing me as a 'person with autism' makes it sound like this is some negative thing that I've been afflicted with. Of course, there are struggles and difficulties I face because of my autism, but that doesn't mean that my being autistic overall is some negative thing that I hate and wish I didn't have. It's no different than how I view my gender identity and sexuality, there are difficulties I face because of me being transgender and lesbian but that doesn't mean I think me being trans and lesbian are negative things.