I have been struggling with this because a lot of people around me use it in this manner when they do something dumb or they act in an awkward way and they’ll be like “oh, that was autistic of me” or “I’ve got the tism” and I always feel so uncomfortable but I also don’t know how to raise it or what to say. I am myself not diagnosed, but I’m pretty sure I am on the spectrum. I was just wondering what you think of it and how you handle it.
I think it is plain stupid.
Autism is a condition, still very much under study, but already well understood enough to teach people what does in fact imply to be autistic.
Other words that started as medical terms - imbecile, idiot, retard, etc - were readily abused and turned into insults because, as I understand it, there was not the same degree of understanding and popularization of the subjects towards the open society in order to avoid basterdizing the scientific knowledge.
What you describe, plainly put, is dehumanizing.