Moderate Functioning Autistic, but with very high IQ.

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I'll have a look.

I will concur with everyone else who mentioned the Multiple Intelligences.

"Gifted" is the worst term. After having grown up in the "gifted" program at school and raising "gifted" children and participated in "gifted" education conferences, etc... I know that at least 1/3 of the characteristics of "gifted" overlap with Aspergers/HFA.

So, at least in the past, AS characteristics were not seen for what they are, but seen as as part of being "gifted". Oh, so I am "gifted" with being able to understand all kinds of academic stuff, but not "gifted" with social ability? I grew up hearing that all my problems were due to my laziness, disrespect, irresponsibility, etc. instead of recognizing that a "gifted" person can actually have problems with executive functioning skills, and that my becoming completely overwhelmed resulted in meltdowns, not teenage tempertantrums. But, no, I was "gifted." I was so smart, I should have been able to figure out how to navigate my way without help. "Gifted" people have no problems with learning in any area (sarcasm.)

ASD and "gifted" can coincide, but they are not the SAME. Don't let anyone blame your problems on your being smart. Don't let anyone think that you shouldn't have learning or social problems at all because you are a fast learner in some areas.

I prefer the term "exceptional", which has come into use relatively recently. I like this term because it can be used for anyone who does not fit/is "excepted" from the norm. Along with this, I also like the term "twice-exceptional" which can refer, for example, to a child who has a high IQ AND has ASD. I've met a few.

Well said.

My husband has a genius high IQ. He had manipulate 3D shapes in his head and draw them. His attention to detail is stunning. He is hyperlexic.

If I was not living with him, he would almost qualify for group home living. All that boring adult stuff people do every day, is excruciating for him. Bills, getting prescriptions, buying food...it's not that he is issues are as severe as yours, he just doesn't have the umph to get it done. Like an energy barrier?

My husband has some other psychiatric comorbids which makes the executive functioning and TOM really difficult.

You are not the only one.

Thanks. I think schizophrenia (one of my diagnoses) does destroy things a bit. I am glad that I don't have the cognitive symptoms though. When I was in supported housing, there was a woman with schizophrenia who couldn't even multiply 10 x 2 and would spend a lot of time talking to herself.

I know for me that it is not an energy barrier. It is that I live in my head too much. I will notice something needs to get done (like the laundry needs to get folded), but the laundry is in my bedroom. At the time I notice it, I don't really have time to do it for some reason, and as soon as I leave the room, I'm back in my head thinking about other stuff. I forget all about it until I return to my bedroom at night and say, "Darn. I was supposed to fold the laundry." And as the pile gets bigger and bigger, the project gets longer. It's now almost midnight and I'm ready for bed and too tired to do it. I think, "I will do it tomorrow." Then the cycle repeats. When I need clothes, I have to dig them out of the pile. At least it is clean! But, if my stuff is wrinkled, you know why... (It is almost a RULE that I buy wrinkle-free clothing!)

But why is the laundry clean but not folded? Easy. First, it takes very little time to start a load of laundry. I can do that almost immediately WHEN I think of it. Also, the machines make beeps to tell me it is done. I really should set an alarm on my phone for every single mundane thing I need to do.

I can't even remember to take medicine.

It's a lot of "out of sight, out of mind" stuff. I get wrapped up in my own head and the ideas there are a lot more interesting that what's going on "in the real world." Even when someone starts talking to me, I don't know I am being talked to until halfway through the sentence. It took years for my husband to realize that I *really* do not hear/comprehend, and that it is not just me ignoring him. One time, I explained that what it sounds like is "hhmph huh nuh hah bwah sauce", and I only catch the very end. Now, the rule is that someone must *say my name* and get my undivided attention before starting to talk. Even just the other day, someone started talking to me, but I thought he was talking to someone else. Halfway through the sentence I realized, "Oh, he's talking to me! Quick, fill in the blanks of what he just said! Catch up and pay attention now!" If I am reading or writing anything, I will not even respond to a greeting. My ears *hear* what is said, and I might even process and understand the words. But the link from that to stopping what I am doing and responding is broken.

This is something I can totally relate to.

I do this exact thing as well.
I think it's a special focus issue that has to do with filtering.

You make that statement as though it were a fact.
It is not a fact, it is merely your opinion.

I challenge you to defend your statement with evidence to support your claim.

I counter-claim that IQ testing has predictive value and offer as evidence the >100 years of Psychometric literature which supports its predictive value.

I think he is lucky to have you as the love of his life....

I to have a rather high intelligence, but I can't tie my shoes. I'd considering that I'm a Little Moderate to high.

IQ is only useful in determining certain types of intelligence, and if a person has other disabilities (such as anxiety during tests, or fine motor skills problems) that aren't accounted for, it can greatly underestimate actual IQ.

It's only an arbitrary system for measuring general intelligence. Scores for the same person can vary greatly if the test is even taken on different days. And scores can vary widely across different IQ tests.

I read somewhere that an IQ above 125 doesn't correlate with greater success. Up to 125, a higher IQ does correlate with greater success. So being a "super-genius" isn't necessarily any better than having an IQ of 125, in terms of financial success.

The point of all of that is that IQ testing is really only useful to a certain extent. I am "gifted" myself, but not financially successful at all. Nor am I successful in other areas of my life. I'm basically a smart loser.

I find that a plastic pill organizer helps--I stuff a weeks worth a pills in it and I can see what pills I need to take today. Or if I have forgotten. I have it in the kitchen so I can look at it while waiting for stuff to cook.

http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/pill-o ... 1563-tier3

A couple thoughts:

Different professionals define functioning labels differently. I have heard some define high functioning as 'average or above average IQ'. So by that definition you'd be HFA no matter how badly you're functioning because your IQ is high.

Personally, I think that's a silly definition, but it's a common one in the research literature.

Other people use the new DSM autism 'levels'. That's probably what your psych did. That definition has no reference to IQ, and although an autistic person with a low IQ would almost certainly score in a more severe category, high IQ autistics can as well.

Also, some people can be harder to accurately IQ test at lower functioning levels, possibly overestimating the rate of cognitive disability among those individuals.

I use one of those too. If I didn't, I'd forget to take my one pill a day because I'm so wrapped up in my own mind that I get distracted and literally forget about things the minute I move from one room to the next. My pill box is on my nightstand so it's the first thing I see when I wake up.

My sister!