Do you know that "autism" is not "autism", and these knowledge points behind the normative title are known?

Dahe News Yu video reporter Cai Junyan

"Autism"? "Autism"? Which of these two titles are you more accustomed to?

The Propaganda and Cultural Affairs Department of the China Disabled Persons' Federation recently issued the "Notice on the Titles Related to the Work of The Disabled and the Disabled in Publicity and Reports" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), announcing 10 normative titles for the work of the disabled and the disabled, the seventh of which points out: "Autism" is called "autism" and "autism" is not used, which has aroused heated discussion.

"Autism" and "autism" are the same disease

In the heated discussion around the call "autism" and the need for "autism", some people agree and some people do not understand.

Proponents argue that the need for a unified name is conducive to disseminating correct ideas, raising public awareness of "autism", eliminating discrimination, and so on.

Puzzled people said that there is no need to unify the name, follow the use of habits, there are also people think that the use of "autism" is more reasonable than the use of "autism", because the word "autism" itself contains the root meaning of "autism", and some people think that the use of "autism" does not reduce the meaning of discrimination... Accounts differ and opinions vary.

Industry insiders said that the China Disabled Persons' Federation issued the "Notice", which is not a mandatory provision, but only to regulate the disabled and the work of the disabled in publicity and reporting, which means that in the future, the domestic mainstream media will tend to use a unified name when reporting autism-related topics, which will help to better unify understanding and reduce ambiguity or confusion.

Someone asked: is "autism" the same as "autism"?

Zhang Bin, chief physician of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology of Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, said that "autism" and "autism" are the same disease, which is a congenital brain development disorder characterized by social interaction disorders, language development disorders, narrow interests and stereotyped behavior patterns.

According to reports, the brain is the decision-making center of the human body, divided into multiple functional areas such as language, emotion, movement, and memory, and each area manages the corresponding functions. Which functional area has a problem, people will have corresponding symptoms. There are different degrees of problems in the brain of children with "autism", and there are also abnormalities in the cerebellum, cingulate gyrus and other areas of children with "autism".

The concept of "autism" was first proposed in 1943 by Professor Leo Canner, an American child psychiatrist. In the mainland, the earliest diagnosis of "autism" case was proposed by Professor Tao Guotai of Nanjing Brain Hospital in 1982, and the history is not long.

Although "autism" is very harmful to children's physical and mental health, there are still many unsolved mysteries, the cause of the disease is not clear, there are no specific drugs and methods, and the public is relatively unfamiliar with "autism". In December 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to designate April 2 as "World Autism Awareness Day" (also known as World Autism Day, World Autism Day) from 2008 onwards to raise awareness of "autism" and attention to "autism" patients.

Calling "autism" without "autism" is also a respect for the academic habits of the country

Some people ask: Since "autism" and "autism" are the same thing, why does the China Disabled Persons' Federation recommend "calling 'autism' and not 'autism'"?

It is understood that in addition to better unified understanding, it is also related to respect for the academic habits of the country.

Judging from the history of the development of autism diagnosis and treatment in the mainland, the name "autism" has been used from the beginning.

In Chinese mainland, the diagnostic term "autism" first appeared in the classic British textbook Clinical Psychiatry translated by the famous psychiatrist Professor Ji Ming and others, and the name of the term used in the book was "infant autism".

In 1982, Professor Tao Guotai of Nanjing Brain Hospital published a paper entitled "Diagnosis and Attribution of Infant Autism" in the Chinese Journal of Neuropsychiatry, and reported four cases of infant autism for the first time.

In 1987, Tao Guotai published an article entitled "Autism in Chinese Infants" in the American Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, which aroused international attention. These early studies have laid the foundation for Professor Tao Guotai's position as a leader in the field of autism research in the mainland.

In the 1990s, Professor Yang Xiaoling and Professor Jia Meixiang of Peking University Sixth Hospital published a paper entitled "Clinical Analysis of 30 Cases of Autism in Children". Since then, the problem of autism has gradually entered a wide range of academic research, educational interventions and public vision.

The translation of the term "autism" originated in Japan. China's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions also use the term "autism" as a name, and the reason is that Taiwan is influenced by Japanese culture and uses "autism" or "autism" in the academic field with reference to foreign Japanese Kanji kana.

Industry insiders said that through the analysis of the characteristic behavior of children with "autism", it can be glimpsed that the translated name of the Chinese of "autism" is very appropriate to express the characteristics of such children in psychopathology: estrangement, loneliness, emotional indifference, and love to exist alone and undisturbed; in stark contrast to maintaining special attachment and interest in certain objects and activities.

In contrast, the term "autism", as the name suggests, has the meaning of self-closure, and the child locks up the heart and leads to isolation from the outside world. Therefore, some people misunderstand that "autism" is a psychological disease that needs psychological treatment, needs to communicate more with children, soothe emotions, lead them to accept themselves and their living environment with an open mind and actions, and ultimately "cure" autism. As everyone knows, this condition is a neurodevelopmental disorder and is not associated with acquired parenting and psychological disorders.

"Calling 'autism' and not using 'autism' is also respecting the academic habits of the country." Industry insiders said that "infant autism" as a disease of the term name, in the field of medicine (psychiatry) discipline has its strict understanding of the concept of terminology and normative use, the name as early as 1995 has been approved by the "National Committee for the Approval of Scientific and Technological Terms" as a normative vocabulary of medicine (psychiatry). When later generations apply this concept of term, the first thing that should be returned is the discourse system and essential understanding of psychiatry, respecting the medical practices that have long existed in the mainland and the term names that have been agreed upon.

【Link】Notice on The relevant contents of the "Notice on the Titles of Disabled Persons and the Work of Persons with Disabilities in Publicity and Reports"

1. It is recommended to use the legal title of "disabled person", and the title that the disabled person is willing to hear, such as "disabled person", can also be used as appropriate;

2. The corresponding disabled person is a "sound person", and does not need to be compared with a "normal person";

3. When indicating the identity, only the position and the general title can be used, similar to "Beijing citizen XXX", and there is no need to emphasize the identity of the disabled;

4. "Disabled persons" is the concept of a group, and it is no longer necessary to use the expression "disabled groups";

5. Use "China Disabled Persons' Federation" or "China Disabled Persons' Federation" for short, not "China Disabled Persons' Federation";

6. Called "disabled athletes" and "Paralympic athletes", generally not called "disabled athletes" and "Paralympic athletes";

7, called "autism", do not use "autism";

8. Can be called "blind" or "visually impaired", and derogatory titles such as "blind" are prohibited.

It can be called "deaf" or "hearing impaired", and generally does not use the title of "deaf and dumb".

It can be called "physically disabled" or "physically disabled person", and derogatory titles such as "lame" are prohibited.

It can be called "speech disability" or "speech disorder", and derogatory titles such as "dumb" are prohibited.

It can be called "intellectually disabled" or "mentally retarded", and derogatory titles such as "idiot" and "mentally retarded" are prohibited.

It can be called "mental disability" or "mental disorder", and derogatory titles such as "madman" are prohibited.

9. At present, the mainland has slowly transitioned from "barrier-free facilities construction" to the overall "barrier-free environment construction", so when mentioning barrier-free, expressions such as "barrier-free environment" can be used more;

10. When translating in English, people with disabilities often use "persons with disabilities (PWD)".

Source: Dahe News Yu Video Editor: Ding Fenglin