Dude, you’re getting given a lesson in empathy by an autistic person. Might want to put the shovel down.

Agreed, the issue isn’t the literal meaning behind these words—as neutral definitions—but the decision to wield them carelessly or as slurs.

I will proudly stand beneath the banner of Autistic Pride, because what to some (like Autism Speaks) is a horrifying handicap is, to me, a goddamn superpower (we are the quarks and muons that hold the superstructure of the IT and data-analysis universe together because of our penchant for paying attention to…

I would think so, too! But given how often you hear people toss it around in conversation, apparently not.

• Why we shouldn’t use “on the Autism spectrum” as a catch-all term for awkwardness