what are your thoughts on the "high functioning", etc labels

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I think in informal settings individuals can choose how they prefer to describe themselves as long as they don't contradict their actual diagnosis. (If someone has "severe" Autism, they probably shouldn't claim "mild"...and vice versa.)

Personally I think "High-Functioning Autism", "Mild Autism", even "a bit of Autism" would work for describing me in casual settings where the topic is something other than Autism. They might be understood more quickly by a casual audience than my formal diagnosis would be.

There's something about the term "mild" that drives me batty. It just sounds so weird, like those people are brands of salsa or something. I wish there were a better colloquial term for it. I'm moderate, and severe is OK I suppose, but mild sounds like something off a menu.

i think this is the best description

im moderate because im high functioning as in employment and relationships and self maintenance but i can meltdown easily if things change or arent what i predicted
im not stereotypically autistic but im very poor with most social skills..ok i can deal with the public but i have to mask significantly for that which tires me out and i can seem stoic and lack emotion and i prefer to be on my own vut im not shy though as in i dont feel self conscious or anything

I prefer my autism muy caliente!

Well the way I see it autism isn't about two extremes, but most people on the autism spectrum can feel they lean more towards the high-functioning side or the low-functioning side, or just hover somewhere in the middle with both high and low-functioning tendencies but in different areas of their lives.

Some say Rain Man is high-functioning, but I'd say he leans more towards the low-functioning side. He may be intelligent, but plenty of lower-functioning people are. But (from what I can remember since I last watched the movie) he's in a care home and requires care, and he does seem delayed socially and unable to communicate articulately. He also doesn't have much sense of danger.

Rainman was incredibly high functioning. He was placed in a residential home not because he was Autistic, but because of an accident involving his brother and the parents were not able to deal with it.

I like the level 1, 2 and 3 labels better because they are defined by how much support a person requires as a result of their autism. Whereas with functioning labels you are either high functioning or low functioning with no room in between and no one really agreed on what constitutes high or low functioning. Now in some parent communities they use the term "profound autism" to describe their child with level 3 autism and severe intellectual disability. I have no problem with this but I do think we need to be careful with how the term is applied because a person can have level 3 autism and still be able to understand and communicate via AAC. Carly Fleischmann and Ido Kedar are examples. Also some NTs use the term "low functioning" to silence autistic people. An example of this is an NT telling an autistic person they deem as "high functioning" that they cannot get to speak for the low functioning people.


There is a thread on Reddit titled "[MASTER POST] What autistic people with high support needs want others to know". They specifically wanted to hear from autistic people who have high support needs, are non verbal, appear very obviously disabled, or have a diagnosis of level 2-3 autism.

https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/comment ... with_high/

That's me!

As for fluctuating levels, I think that's somewhat exaggerated. I'm a Level 2 meaning I need significant support in order to do things. That doesn't mean a caregiver but maybe tinted glasses, ear defenders, ADHD meds, a few nervous breakdowns and a shot of tequila. Most of the time I can't have those supports so I just don't do things. My levels fluctuate in terms of which thing bothers me more on any given day but they never get to a "manageable" or a "masking" level that's productive. I either do things with considerable duress or they don't get done at all. My scores were also very low in all areas. It wasn't a profile with some high and some low which averaged out to medium. It was all low. I think the only reason I didn't get L3 is because they know I'd managed to push through having a career for the sake of my kids, even though it darn near killed me, and I required hospitalisation for adrenal burnout.

The problem that I have is that the areas that are severe about my Autism are EXTREMELY severe, like potentially life threateningly severe. And I can be affected by them daily. But they are not areas that people normally think of or consider when they think about someone who is severely Autistic. I don't require a caretaker. I require immense amounts of help in other areas but because these areas are not areas that people normally think of, help for me is not available. So my severity level gets more and more severe as I am deteriorating. But because help is not available for my issues at all, I just have to deal with it.

But because my issues of severity are not obviously visible to the casual observer, no one understands or believes that I am actually severe. Everyone insists that my Autism is mild because they can't see the issues that are literally life threatening. And often times, if I try to explain my actual levels to people, they will argue with me and become hostile and threatening because they will not believe me because I don't fit their description of severity in Autism should look like. So I get villanized for daring to to say that I have Autistic struggles that are super severe and trying to explain that I do not have mild Autism.

^ ^^ I'm not going to claim my autism is severe as either of yours, but I also have SMI. For most of the time as a psych patient I had my needs ignored, and was treated like someone with a very dodgy personality, because I didn't fit the expected,nay demanded pattern of good at x also good at y. That also resulted in being ignored over insisting that there was more going on than SMI. After my wife died I spiralled into a gradually greater state of self neglect especially when it came to hygiene and keeping my flat clean. I went into avoidant mode over the latter because of my poor planning and organising ability . I really struggle when it comes to multistep tasks. It wasn't picked up on by the mental health professionals because they only came to my flat once after my wife died; because I was late for my depot.

The adaptive functioning -IQ gap is more than a little wide in my case, but what my previous psych team knew about AF could've been written on a sticky note. My daughter knew things weren't right, but couldn't do much until I was eventually persuaded to move near her. She has had a carer's assessment and thus officially is a carer. I get support with cleaning, shopping, dealing with the housing association, GP, and the likes of the energy provider etc.

If you spent a short time with me in a verbally dominated setting you'd probably think I was just a somewhat odd person, but sharper than sharp intellectually. In a setting where verbal skills aren't to the fore, and practical skills are, you'd see a markedly different person.

Given all that I need more support than would be evident from a 15 minute casual chit chat with me. Added to all that is the impaired mobility as a result of 2 falls. Long distances in and outdoors I'm very much wheelchair bound.

To me, they're like any other label...good for expressing a bigger concept/idea/whatever in a quick manner. It's not precise, but it's an okay starting point or thing to mention for quick reference. I have no issues with them as people have a general understanding of functioning levels and if they don't it's easy enough to break them down into something people can understand. If it's someone who matters to me, I'll simply elaborate on my own functioning level so they can have a bigger picture of what this is for me.

That is interesting, although the water does get rather muddy and just because one is a level 1 does not previous getting run over because vision suddenly cut out because you ran out of mental coins for processing the visual stimuli. Which is a real concern that I have as sensory processing problems can go from no biggie to potentially fatal rate quickly.

I like this description.
I've noticed that sometimes the same people here who are against any severity terms of autism actually use "mild" and "severe" in some of their posts. So we all know that severity does exist, but some people freak out about it because they think that by using these terms they aren't going to get any support.

I could do with some support, but only minimal support. I don't have issues with communicating or independence. Anxiety is the biggest factor that gets in the way, as I suffer with agoraphobia. I also have ADHD, which can also mean I may require some support if needed. But if I go by autism symptoms alone, I'm not severe in any way at all.

Some autistic people are more severe than me. Some are prone to having a meltdown in a crowded store, or need a certain time alone to recover from a meltdown or socialising, or find it difficult to communicate articulately or may be unable to communicate at all depending on the circumstances, or some are even non-verbal.

My difficulties are more complex, some are non-existent, others are backed up by co-morbids, and others are manageable or very mild. I'm passable, meaning you can't really guess I'm ASD unless you're told. Masking socially doesn't drain me. Usually socialising can actually help if I'm feeling depressed, anxious or overwhelmed. Yes I'm not keen on some social environments such as bars and clubs but that's related to social anxiety, and socialising isn't just about bars and clubs, it can be anything; family gatherings, chatting with colleagues at work, or even speaking on the phone to friends or family. I'm always up for this.

Shrinks apply the label "High funcitioning" ( its was originally used for psychotics and folks with other conditions before it was even applied to autistics) to folks who blend into society and often have good jobs.

Rain Man would be decidedly low functioning. Stood out from society and functioned on the level of a normal child or a retarted adult. Hardly high functioning. But because of his one extreme talent (that being for numbers) he would be an "idiot savant". With both the savant (smart side of his personality) and the idiot (non functioning) part applying.

"High functioning" characters would be like "Bones"(the young lady scientist in the TV show of that name), or like Sheldon Leonard in the Big Bang Theory. Folks who blend into society. But when you look at them closely they have deficits.

Is function measured by how we fit into society? ^ Serious question.

I thought function for ND or NT or anyone, was how comfortably or well we are able to do the things we need and want to do. For some people, society is irrelevant. They can still manage (or not manage) to adapt to different situations like problem solving, being independent without needing aides or support, etc. even from their own homes.

I'd say I function pretty well in my own home, but I still have major issues with executive function, with sensory (even sunlight can debilitate me), with emotional regulation, making necessary phone calls, etc.