What’s so special about the word special?

To me when I think of the word special it comes with the association if being a bit 'needy' and 'spesh'. I hate that this is a thought that people may have when they think about anyone who is autistic. I personally don't feel it is a helpful word. When having a 'google' of things associated with the word special I can't say I was surprised at some of the terms that came up.

The word special is often bounced around when it comes to autism. Special interests, special needs, Special abilities, special schools etc. What do all these terms mean, are they the right way of referring to an autistic individual? These are some of the thoughts I want to unpack in this post. 

So what do some of these terms actually mean...

Special needs/ Special education: 

This is a very broad term that encompasses a wide variety of aspects. It refers to an individual who requires additional assistants for a disability that may be medical, psychological or mental. This includes autism. It is a term commonly used within the education system such as Special educational needs (SEN), or special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). 

As you may know from previous posts my schooling journey was massively supported by the SENCo (Special educational needs coordinator) and the wider SEN team. For this I am so grateful but I always struggled with the idea that the support I received was because I was special. In my eyes I had different struggles in accessing school, this doesn't make me special. Having additional needs doesn't mean that I am getting special treatment, these adjustments just mean that my experience was made equal to my peers.

So what about the term Special interests and abilities:

Many autistic individuals have a deep, highly focused level of interests in particular topics. These can last anywhere from life time interest to just a short period of time. Special interests can come with a negative label of being something that autistic individuals just don't stop talking about. This can of course sometimes be the case where the individual also has struggles with social interaction but in other instances these interests can mean amazing things happen that without the drive an autistic individual can add may never take off. Greta Thumberg is a great example of this. Her deep rooted interest around climate change has lead to world wide movements raising awareness and leading change. 

On a side note if you don’t know much about Grete Thumberg and her journey with Asperger’s and how she feels this has empowered her drive change I would really recommended watching ‘I am Greta’ a documentary that the BBC produced in January 2021, she is such a positive role model for the autism community and I personally found it very empowering to watch!

 

So what would I prefer…

I personally don't like being referred to as special. I don't feel I am. I may be different to you but just as much as you are to another person reading this. I personally don't think this makes me anymore special than you! 

I feel that the word special can come with so many other associations that people don’t realise. I hate the idea that people think that because I have ‘special needs’ I get special treatment making me privileged.

My personal preference would be for terms such as additional needs, additional needs coordinators etc to be used. This to me feels more inclusive it could be anything from a one off having a bit of a tough day where anxiety takes over and needed some TLC to a life long need for adaptations such as a wheelchair user needed ramps to access a building etc. 

It is important to acknowledge those who have special interests and I think that this is the right term to use in this situation but I would really encourage you to think wider than what you may first think of when it comes to this term. In my head I instantly think of a high functioning autistic individual who knows EVERYTHING about trains and that is all they talk about!! While like I said earlier this is the case for some please don’t group the whole community together with this thought.

I am aware that others may have different views to me on this topic and it is really important that those views are respected but I hope this post has maybe changed the way you think when it comes to the word special!

Hannah :)