The “Profound Autism” Label Hurts Autistic People

ASAN’s new toolkit tackles “profound autism,” the newest functioning label. Functioning labels try to sort autistic people into types, like “high” or “low functioning.” They don’t help us get what we need — they hurt us. “Profound autism” makes the same bad guesses as “low functioning” did. It’s the same old problem in new words.

The toolkit looks at this history and shows how these problems are repeating. Separating people with high support needs into their own group harms them, the people who love them, and the whole autistic advocacy movement. Read and share this resource. All means all.

1. What is this toolkit about?
2. What are functioning labels? Why are functioning labels bad?
3. What is “profound autism”?
4. Why did people start using the “profound autism” label?
5. How does the “profound autism” label hurt autistic people?
6. What can we do?
7. This is not just about the words “profound autism”.

Download Files for this Resource

• Profound-Autism-Toolkit-Plain-Language