Background: In recent years, there have been increasing discussions surrounding the appropriate terminology to talk about autism. Initially, this debate revolved around the use of person-first language (e.g., person with autism) versus identity-first language (IFL; e.g., autistic person) but has recently expanded to other autismrelated terms (e.g., deficits). However, to date, studies investigating autism-related language preferences have been limited to English-speaking countries, and little is known about preferences in other languages. This study addresses this gap by investigating the language preferences of French-speaking autistic adults. Methods: Five hundred and forty-one French-speaking autistic adults (formal diagnosis and self-identified) completed an online survey where they selected terms they preferred to use to talk about: (1) the nomenclature of autism; (2) an autistic person; (3) someone's autistic identity; (4) autism more broadly; (5) the abilities of autistic people; and (6) people without a diagnosis of autism. Participants also revealed more about their language preferences via an open-text response. Results: The most preferred terms were ''Autisme,'' ''Personne autiste,'' ''Autiste,'' ''Est Autiste,'' ''Diffe ´rence neurologique/ce ´re ´brale,'' ''Diffe ´rences,'' ''Difficulte ´s,'' ''Personne neurotypique,'' ''Neurotypique,'' and ''Personne non-autiste.'' To better understand these preferences, participants' open comments were analyzed, revealing further support for IFL and the social model of disability, and a preference for simple, precise, and validated terms. Conclusions: These results are consistent with autism terminology preferences in English-speaking countries and provide additional insight into the reasons underlying these preferences. Such work has implications for informing the language of researchers, clinicians, and other professionals in the field, as well as the general public.

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Background: In recent years, there have been increasing discussions surrounding the appropriate terminology to talk about autism. Initially, this debate revolved around the use of person-first language (e.g., person with autism) vs. identity-first language (e.g., autistic person) but has recently expanded to other autism-related terms (e.g., deficits). However, to date, studies investigating autism-related language preferences have been limited to English-speaking countries, and little is known about preferences in other languages. This study addresses this gap by investigating the language preferences of French-speaking autistic adults.Methods: 541 French-speaking autistic adults (formal diagnosis and self-identified) completed an online survey where they selected terms they preferred to use to talk about: 1) the nomenclature of autism; 2) an autistic person; 3) someone’s autistic identity; 4) autism more broadly; 5) the abilities of autistic people; and 6) people without a diagnosis of autism. Participants also revealed more about their language preferences via an open-text response. Results: The most preferred terms were “Autisme”, “Personne autiste”, “Autiste”, “Est Autiste”, “Différence neurologique/cérébrale”, “Différences”, “Difficultés”, “Personne neurotypique”, “Neurotypique” and “Personne non-autiste”. To better understand these preferences, participants’ open comments were analyzed, revealing further support for identity-first language and the social model of disability, and a preference for simple, precise and validated terms. Conclusions: These results are consistent with autism terminology preferences in English-speaking countries and provide additional insight into the reasons underlying these preferences. Such work has implications for informing the language of researchers, clinicians and other professionals in the field, as well as the general public.

Recent findings suggest that stigma and camouflaging contribute to mental health difficulties for autistic individuals, however, this evidence is largely based on UK samples. While studies have shown cross-cultural differences in levels of autism-related stigma, it remains unclear whether camouflaging and mental health difficulties vary across cultures. Hence, the current study had two aims: firstly, to determine whether significant relationships between autism acceptance, camouflaging, and mental health difficulties replicate in a more diverse cross-cultural sample of autistic adults and, secondly, to compare these variables across cultures. To fulfil these aims, 306 autistic adults from eight countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States) completed an online survey. Our results revealed that external acceptance and personal acceptance predicted lower levels of depression but not camouflaging or stress. Higher camouflaging predicted elevated levels of anxiety. Significant differences were found across countries in external acceptance, personal acceptance, depression, anxiety, and stress, even after controlling for relevant covariates. Specifically, autistic individuals in Japan experienced lower levels of external and personal acceptance, and those in Belgium experienced lower levels of external acceptance, than at least one other country. Unique profiles of mental health difficulties were identified across countries. Nevertheless, autistic individuals in South Africa consistently experienced the highest mental health burden, displaying elevated levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, while those in the US experienced the lowest. Levels of camouflaging also differed across cultures, with those in Japan scoring lowest, however this became non-significant after controlling for covariates. These findings have significant implications for identifying priority regions for anti-stigma interventions and highlighting countries where greater support for mental health difficulties is needed.