Hmm... As an Autie of color dealing with ethnic and cultural issues/identity, the idea of Autistics as a minority group makes my head spin even more! Now I'm a *double* minority?  
   So if autistics *were* a minority, would we be a racial, social (like gays), cultural/paradigmal (like Jews), disabled (like Deaf people) or some other type of minority group altogether?
   I have HFA rather than AS, so I feel that Autistic is a more appropriate word than 'Aspergian'. Besides, what's wrong with being retarded? I've been described as 'borderline retarded' since my IQ generally oscillates between 80 and 90 on the Binet exam, which skews higher. My IQ would be around 75-85 on another test. 'Retard' is an insult to those of us who are lacking in what the NTs term 'intelligence'.
    Many African-Americans have reclaimed the 'N Word' to remove much of it's harshness. The N word is currently used in hip-hop music as a colloquialism for friend or fellow man.
    Autistic doesn't have HALF as many negative connotations as the N word does. Besides, we ARE autistic. Aspies ARE autistic. It comes from the Greek word 'autos', which means self. Rejecting the word Autistic means rejecting yourSELF. We're autistic and we are sure as hell not ashamed of it!!!!