by : Nikki Jeanette/creator of “AuTalkz”
For the longest time, the word “retard” was used as a horrible insult. In fact, that’s partially the reason why the DSM changed it to “Intellectual Disability”.
Hang on, I’m going somewhere with this.
So, the place I saw this word thrown around the most as an insult was the gaming community (as that’s pretty much my social life, and not many people actually call someone a “retard” in person…cause, you know, safety of that computer screen).
“AuTalkz” by Nikki Jeanette
At the time when I first began to play MMOs (which was shortly before WoW came out), it wasn’t used often. As WoW and other games grew, I noticed that the word “retard” was used more and more often as an insult.
It completely blew up to the point where practically everyone was using it, and moderators (in MMOs or social chatrooms) just didn’t care or did nothing.
These days, I’ve been seeing something new used in place of “retard”. It’s, you’ve guessed it, “autistic”.
Nikki is the creator of the webcomic “AuTalkz”. She has Asperger’s Syndrome and found relief from panic attacks by doodling. Nikki wanted to make a comic which went back to the “bare basics” of past comics: ones l like Calvin & Hobbes which could teach lessons and procure laughter without the use of bad language and-or graphic violence….she called this comic strip “AuTalkz“. “The idea was for the opinions and comedy to come from the viewpoint of someone with ASD. I decided to branch out and do something I’ve always wanted to do: Help people understand autism. My hope is that my comic can help promote understanding, particularly teachers who have students on the spectrum, parents who have children on the spectrum, and even kids and workers who have classmates and co-workers on the spectrum”. We would agree and are proud to feature Nikki and her fabulous work, AuTalkz, on aspergers101.com