Login (DCU Staff Only)
Login (DCU Staff Only)

DORAS | DCU Research Repository

Explore open access research and scholarly works from DCU

Advanced Search

Language Preferences of the Autistic Community and Educators Living in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

Gormley, Laura orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-2190-479X, Ramey, Devon orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-0381-5403, Grennan, Carrie orcid logoORCID: 0009-0004-2940-7215 and Koka, Nathalie (2025) Language Preferences of the Autistic Community and Educators Living in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Journal of Education, 49 .

Abstract
The aim of our co-produced, multiple methods study was to explore the language preferences of the autistic community in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as the preferences of educators supporting autistic learners in this region. A total of 111 participants completed the survey, which included both open- and close-ended questions. Ten of the participants were autistic educators, 35 were autistic non-educators, and 66 were non-autistic educators. Overall, autistic people preferred identity-first terms, such as autistic, neurodivergent, and neurodiverse over person-first terms (e.g., person with autism). Non-autistic educators showed no clear preference for any terms but acknowledged the importance of asking autistic people about their preferences. Based on our findings, it is recommended that educators respect the preferences of the individuals they support. When it is not possible to ask about preferences, educators should opt for identity-first and neuro-affirmative terms, while avoiding person-first terms.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:Autism, identity-first language, person-first language, educators, inclusive education, Ireland
Subjects:Social Sciences > Education
Social Sciences > Teaching
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education
DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education > School of Inclusive & Special Education
DCU Faculties and Schools
Research Institutes and Centres
Research Institutes and Centres > Centre for Inclusive Pedagogy
Publisher:DCU Educational Research Centre
Official URL:https://www.erc.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/erc_...
Copyright Information:Authors
Funders:SCoTENS Seed Funding 2022
ID Code:31890
Deposited On:02 Dec 2025 15:19 by Laura Gormley . Last Modified 02 Dec 2025 15:19
Documents

Full text available as:

[thumbnail of Language Preferences of the Autistic Community and Educators Living in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland]
Preview
PDF (Language Preferences of the Autistic Community and Educators Living in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
509kB
Downloads

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Archive Staff Only: edit this record