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wavefreak58
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28 Dec 2010, 5:43 pm

ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
But it's not really "lower". It's just like someone with another condition that cannot find work or has problems. They are not really lower functioning if they can live independently, have a normal to above normal IQ,, shop alone, do day to day chores and tasks. Someone like that isn't low functioning. Low functioning is someone who lives in an assisted living center or group home, or needs assistance in their own home for day to day living. It's not someone who cannot find a job or who may need certain conditions while working.
If you can manage living independently with trouble finding work as your only obstacle you are not low functioning.


I really think high and low functioning is the wrong question. Maybe I'm being to idealistic, but it think the question should be if an individual is maximizing their functioning. I tend to think that the lowest functioning ones attract extensive services and the highest functioning ones manage to find their way. The ones in the middle are pretty much screwed. Not just with autistics, either.


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MidlifeAspie
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28 Dec 2010, 5:46 pm

wavefreak58 wrote:
I really think high and low functioning is the wrong question. Maybe I'm being to idealistic, but it think the question should be if an individual is maximizing their functioning..


Agreed. Everyone is better in some areas of their lives versus others. I am "high-functioning" in my career path and "low-functioning" in regards to my empty social circle. Perhaps another way of looking at the divisions is to categorize them.



ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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28 Dec 2010, 5:52 pm

wavefreak58 wrote:
ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo wrote:
But it's not really "lower". It's just like someone with another condition that cannot find work or has problems. They are not really lower functioning if they can live independently, have a normal to above normal IQ,, shop alone, do day to day chores and tasks. Someone like that isn't low functioning. Low functioning is someone who lives in an assisted living center or group home, or needs assistance in their own home for day to day living. It's not someone who cannot find a job or who may need certain conditions while working.
If you can manage living independently with trouble finding work as your only obstacle you are not low functioning.


I really think high and low functioning is the wrong question. Maybe I'm being to idealistic, but it think the question should be if an individual is maximizing their functioning. I tend to think that the lowest functioning ones attract extensive services and the highest functioning ones manage to find their way. The ones in the middle are pretty much screwed. Not just with autistics, either.

I agree with you there! :)



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28 Dec 2010, 6:35 pm

kfisherx wrote:
So how is this different for ANY person alive who has any sort of issue? I mean at what point do we stop the excuses (being bitter) and start taking responsibility?

It depends on what "taking responsibility" is meant to mean. If it means, "if you are not succeeding the usual ways (or worse), then you are not taking responsibility." IOW, that there is no such thing as an actual problem (that can't be dealt with by effort alone), only people failing to "take responsibility." If that's the interpretation, then that's a problem. Some people do have things going on that make functioning in the world problematic in ways that have nothing to do with taking or not taking responsibility.