Autistic People's Perspectives on Functioning Labels and Associated Reasons, and Community Connectedness.

PURPOSE: Functioning labels have been used in relation to autistic people and differentiating between support needs. The main purpose of our study was to identify perspectives regarding language about being autistic. In regard to themselves and functioning. Furthermore, we investigated the influential factor of community connectedness on use of language acceptability and functioning labels. METHODS: 516 autistic respondents completed our survey. We asked about demographic characteristics, how respondents would like autistic people to be termed in the survey, and their acceptability (person with autism, Aspergers, disorder, conditions, living with autism, autistic). We also asked about respondents? Autistic Community Connectedness, acknowledging the implicit nature of language and identity (Stets & Serpe in New directions in identity theory and research, Oxford University Press, 2016). The main focus of our survey was whether or not to use functioning labels, and the supporting rationale. RESULTS: 97% of respondents stated that they find the term 'autistic' acceptable. Respondents who did see merit in using functioning labels to describe autistic people also reported not necessarily using them about themselves. Community membership was found to impact the participants' language preferences to describe the support needs of autistic people, including the use of functioning labels. CONCLUSION: The proposed best option for language preferences is not to find consensus but instead, opt for the optimal choice that people find the least offensive or disagreeable. This means using identity-first language and not using functioning labels.

Tensions Between Autistic Sociality, Communication, and Social Skills Research: A Response to Bambara (2022) and Camarata (2022).

PURPOSE: The purpose of this letter to the editor is to further elucidate the arguments Keates (2022) and Beechey (2022) stated in their letters to the editor. Both Bambara (2022) and Camarata (2022) pose comments that require clarifying the original arguments, particularly regarding power and autistic sociality, which we feel will provide further clarity to this highly significant and growing topic within autism research. CONCLUSION: We recommend teaching not autistic people but rather non-autistic individuals about autistic sociality, in order to lower the burden on autistic interlocutors in cross-neurotype interactions and socialization (as per previous literature, Bottema-Beutel et al., 2018). We provide recommendations to address difficulties in cross-neurotype interactions-for example, bridging the neurotype gap through practice or psychosocial interventions for acceptance of autistic people and their system of interpretation, as per Jones et al. (2021).

A Letter to the Editor Regarding Bambara et al. (2021), "Using Peer Supports to Encourage Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder to Show Interest in Their Conversation Partners".

PURPOSE: The purpose of this letter is to address interpretations regarding Bambara et al.'s (2021) study and help resolve potential for further missteps within this line of research. CONCLUSION: There is clear value in teaching skills that are wanted by autistic people. The primary issue within the article is that it does not acknowledge the double empathy problem and is constructed based on only a neurotypical system of interpretation or communication style. What is being promoted is to address skills autistic participants request.