Anna Lina Litz, Aster Fliers

How do you identify?

Finding the right words to communicate your identity to the world can be useful for anybody. You get to identify yourself and name your identity in a way that fits. You also get to share that knowledge on your own terms, in your own time, in a way that suits you. Because identity is ever changing and deeply personal, things might change as you do. It’s also hard to ignore that society often labels us before we label ourselves. So we ask the people we work with to share how they identify, if they feel comfortable doing so.

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Weimin Zhu - Playful Jewellery for the Inner World (Breathing Necklace) - Image courtesy of Weimin Zhu . Photograph used with the expressed permission of the artist. Do not reproduce or share without permission. Weimin Zhu

Some people strongly identify with their Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis and take pride in that identity. Others are hesitant about sharing their diagnosis because of the stigma society places on neurodiverse people. Maybe you want to be known as an artist, not as a diagnosis. Maybe your diagnosis is what you identify with and take pride in. Maybe your art and your diagnosis are deeply intertwined and it’s hard to say where one begins and the other ends. It can be nice to have a starting point to naming your identity, so here’s a short questionnaire to consider some things about yourself you might not have considered before. We’ve provided some options, but it’s first and foremost an invitation to find your own words.

How do you identify yourself? Which words best describe your identity?

  1. I’d prefer not to say.
  2. I’m pretty neurotypical.
  3. I’m definitely somewhere on the spectrum.
  4. Yes I’m autistic, but I haven’t told anyone yet.
  5. I have my diagnosis and am proud of it.
  6. Different, namely: