Every time you use a disability as an insult, you are reinforcing the notion that disability is worse than whatever it is you are insulting. You are helping to establish or maintain that hierarchical notion that disabled people are inferior. Yes, even calling a privileged, hyper-abled person an idiot or an idiot savant contributes to this, and is therefore ableist.
Being hyper-abled and disabled are not mutually exclusive. That's why there are terms for people who exist at both ends of the ability/disability spectrum *at the same time*. "Twice exceptional", "idiot savant", "splinter skills", "spiky skill profile"... These are a few of the terms invented specifically to describe such a pattern. Autistic people, in particular, are likely to fit this pattern.
#ActuallyAutistic
#TwiceExceptional
#TwiceGifted
#Savantism
#IdiotSavant
#SplinterSkills
#Ableism
@DamienMarieAtHope Thank you for introducing me to the term #axiology. Now I have a word for something that has been deeply important to me for most of my life!
As a kid, I was frequently praised for being #gifted. As I got older, I was frequently scolded for various supposed moral failings which, in retrospect, were actually just manifestations of #autism. I'm #TwiceGifted, but only learned this in my mid 20s, after first being made to feel I was special for my IQ, and then being made to feel I was garbage for my personality.
Now I understand that abilities and disabilities have no bearing on a person's value. We all have intrinsic value because we are human beings. So I am finally allowed to rest and just be myself.
And now I have a missing word I needed to describe my thinking on the matter.
Aaron