High Functioning

Post Reply New Topic

I was diagnosed with HFA. I had speech delays and still have issues with pronunciation.

I was diagnosed with HFA. I had speech delays and still have issues with pronunciation.

I have many data points, and I would say that only 2 HFA individuals I have met present as really obviously autistic, and it is the more severe social disability that distinguishes them, not non-social traits. Only 1 of these people continues to appear really autistic as I converse with him, because his verbal ability is quite limited. The other person is verbally fluent, and the initial impression of really autistic presentation decreases as interaction increases.

[quote="Jezebel"][quote="Rocket123"]I 100% agree (about ASD being confusing). This is a topic I have spoken about with my therapist (a clinical psychologist with expertise in autism, particularly with children).

My therapist agrees that I do qualify for the diagnostic criteria for Aspergers according to DSM-IV. However, she went on to say that I “did not present as someone who is Autistic”. That she disagreed with the change introduced in DSM-V. That someone with Aspergers “presents themselves differently” than someone with Autism. That someone with Autism is much more impaired.

Ultimately, I have no idea (if my therapist is right or wrong). My world is very limited. I have only met (and observed) one other autistic individual in my life. So, I don’t have enough data points to form an opinion on this matter.[/quote]

The only difference according to the DSM-IV is that aspergers lacks speech delay and must have average or above average intelligence.
But the DSM-IV was criticized for only including mostly the harder to spot symptoms...
Hmm. I'm not sure if I agree or disagree - so I suppose a little of both?

As of now, like you, my actual experience with other autistic individuals has been limited as well, though I am planning on going on to graduate school to specialize in ASDs before going the PhD or MD/PhD route, but I think her comment is kind of forgetting the whole "spectrum" thing. The main problem with the two disorders being different seemed to occur with those considered "high functioning." I don't think it's necessarily true that someone with autistic disorder was more impaired though? Again, it really just seemed to change from person to person. I remember some people on here saying how their actual diagnosis had changed from autistic disorder to Aspergers (or perhaps it was vice versa) or that their diagnosis wasn't actually clear at all, which is kind of confusing.

So I suppose ASD becomes confusing at the same point - what's the difference between a high functioning autistic individual and someone diagnosed with Aspergers? Perhaps they could've had specifiers for that? Maybe something like ASD "with Aspergers traits" to show the differences displayed/presented by individuals on the spectrum? You've brought up an interesting point.[/quote]

As a parent "high functioning" meant different things historically. In the early days my daughter was HFA because she had a speech delay but was smart.

Today as a 9yr old she's been demoted from "HF" to "moderate" as her communication is still well behind her NT peers despite not even trying with math or music. High functioning nowadays has been hijacked by people formerly labelled with Aspergers.

At this point I don't know what the hell "high-functioning" is anymore. I really just prefer to be treated as an individual, but I know that won't happen.