Identifying Language for People on the Autism Spectrum: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Person-first language is considered a central component to recovery oriented person-centred care; however, there is a growing adoption of identify-first language among autistic advocates. Mental health nurses require awareness of critical autism issues given the high prevalence of comorbid psychopathology. This scoping review of literature from 2010 to 2018 regarding identifying language for people on the autism spectrum identified a paucity of research that systematically explored and considered antagonisms, representation, and potential consequences of either of the current modes of identifying language becoming dominant. Mental health nurses should appreciate the complexity within identifying language and adopt context dependent language.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Ethical statements

This review was approved by the Southern Cross University Human Research Ethics Committee. There are no identified conflicts of interest to declare and no funding was received for this project.

Publication statement

This review has not been published elsewhere and has not been submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere.