ArticleAutism : the international journal of research and practice2026
English-Language Autism Terminology Preferences of Autistic People and their Parents in the United States: Clustering Illuminates Diverse Views.
Article in Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Autism terminology preferences are the subject of considerable debate and various studies, the results of which sometimes conflict. This study examined diversity in terminology preferences in a U.S. sample of 3,181 non-autistic parents and 2,098 autistic people (including 451 autistic parents). The study also examined a particularly wide range of language issues: participants rated terms for autism, possible subgroups within autism, autistic people, autism likelihood, and autistic characteristics. Non-autistic parents', autistic parents', and autistic non-parents' terminology ratings differed, but generally modestly. Using clustering to explore response patterns revealed greater variability. Almost half of the participants were grouped in the Open Cluster, characterised by liking or neutrality towards most terms. Others were grouped in the Identity-First Cluster, characterised by support for identity-first language, strong opposition to terms for possible autism subgroups, and rejection of many pathologising terms. Other participants were in the Person-First Cluster, characterised by support for person-first language, yet still some scepticism towards terms for possible autism subgroups. Autistic participants were overrepresented in the Identity-First Cluster, while non-autistic parents were overrepresented in the Person-First Cluster. These results suggest that there is presently no consensus regarding autism terminology preferences in the United States.Community Abstract
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