Reply to Is "on the spectrum" offensive?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have recently been in situations where adults casually referred to awkward or socially unaware colleagues as "on the spectrum." I find this frustrating and offensive (and often inaccurate) and the term itself bothers me. I am a mom of a SN kid so definitely sensitive to this kind of thing.. is this objectively offensive? How about if referring to a kid with an ASD diagnosis?[/quote]

Its offensive when they are basically bullying and making up stuff.[/quote]

Quirky is a nice way of saying rude.  On the spectrum is a nice way of saying quirky and rude.  What you want is for people to excuse rudeness without ever even acknowledging that's what they're doing.  That only works with friends and people who like you.  For colleagues or acquaintances, it won't work.  [/quote]

Yuck. Someone on the spectrum isn't being rude when they don't adhere to your expectations. If you see that someone is offended by something an autistic person is doing, seek to bridge understanding by being descriptive. "Hannah loves to voice her opinions, please let her/us know if you'd prefer we don't discuss X, y, z" "Tom is an enthusiastic storyteller and sometimes needs to be steered to other topics or reminded of your time limits." Whatever the case may be. [/quote]

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