Person First Language identifies who I am as a person who is made up of various identities. Identify first language places my identity first. I prefer person first language, as my identity is a beautiful rainbow making up who I am, being on the Autism Spectrum is one aspect of my identity.

The use of person first language or identity based language is dependent upon the individual. If I say, “I am an Autistic person vs. I am a woman with high functioning Asperger’s”, a very distinct picture is presented/offered of my identity. Identity first language labels my individuality as linear and offers opportunities for greater experiences of marginalization. The presumption of my identity belongs to me and my own identifying factors. Identity first language segregates and offers possibilities constructing internal and external barriers. Those walls become potential societal perceptions of who I am even prior to even getting to know me as an individual. Identity first states this is who I am. On the other hand, person first declares I am an individual before any one part of my identity.

Who I am, is a complicated interwoven patchwork of identities. Upon waking up in the morning, I don’t reach for my Asperger’s mind. It is a part of how I think and perceive the world, a portion making up who I am in the complex pie chart of self. Person first definition connects to the story I call self. Who I am is based upon many factors, and the language I choose further defines me. Person first announces myself as an individual while identity first language announces my “disability” or “ dis Ability”. Person first language, opens the dialogue of communication and perhaps leaves judgments upon the table. Identity based language fails to account for the complexities in identity formation. Person first language declares I am a person before I am any label. The question becomes: How do I want to be perceived? Is my identity interpretation chosen by me or by others? Each choice offers opportunities to identify who I am; this choice belongs to me not to another. My identity, is a complicated weaving of what I call truth. Truth that can only originate from within the individual, whose heart speaks what the mind cannot always claim. For identity isn’t static, it’s built upon layers and layers of life experiences and self- defining truth. The words I choose to claim who I am, are one part of the intricate nautilus spiral, I call self.Woman smiling.

Written by Lisa Boskovich

Graduate Research Assistant for Thompson Policy Institute

 

Lisa Boskovich has a Bachelors of Science from California State University Fullerton with an emphasis in Disability where she worked as a Research Assistant. She obtained her Masters of Arts in Special Education at Chapman University. Presently she is a Ph.D. student in Disability Studies at Chapman University. Her research interests include: Females on the Autism Spectrum, individuals with hidden disabilities, dual Identity coming out process, and the Intersectionality of Queer Theory and Disability Studies. Lisa is currently working as a Research Assistant at The Thompson Policy Institute on Disability and Autism.