Recently in the UK, there has been a lot of talk about gay marriage. I believe it is a purely an issue of semantics, not rights - either redefine the term 'civil partnership', or have the government tell a religion to redefine their doctrine. I think we know which is more sensible.
But this got me thinking about the terminology surrounding and mental 'abnormalities'. Mental breakdown, not right in the head, and weird are all used to describe someone who has either a temporary or a permanent chemical imbalance in the brain (I say imbalance, I mean a significant difference compared to one standard deviation of the population, 'normal'). Over recent years, there have been campaigns to try and rid people of preconceptions about mental illness. There was a campaign that told us not to 'not talk about it'. The most recent campaign is telling us "it's time to talk about mental illness". What about preexisting conditions?
I'm not suggesting a guide on Aspie spotting (though a fun game at universities and accounting departments), and it doesn't have to stick to autism spectrum disorders. We can't 'make autism history' (and don't want to). The government spends large amounts of money in ways not everyone agrees with - perhaps some could go towards a campaign to raise awareness, without asking people to diagnose everyone they know.
If people understand that terms can be offensive if used incorrectly, and that other terms are perfectly acceptable, maybe we can move past it as a society. Think #isitok of The Last Leg, which does a bit, but focuses mainly on physical disabilities. Of course, not everyone will listen, but some will, and wouldn't that be good?
