you say theres no severity levels with autism but

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I think that the main factor of mild autism (formerly known as Asperger's syndrome) is the individual having no speech delays and were as articulate as their typically developing peers from early childhood (as in no echolalia or other speech differences). Not being able to pronounce S's or R's isn't necessarily a tool to diagnose autism, as many children without autism can have this too, and it can also depend on the child's teeth and hearing.

I think that is what assessors look for, because usually when a child can talk articulately they're more likely to communicate their thoughts and form social relationships even though they still might come across as socially awkward.
My social awkwardness as a child was caused by shyness (if I didn't know other children very well) and impulsive/hyperactive behaviour (if I knew other children well enough) and not caused by communication barriers or inability to understand body language.

Joe, The more you describe yourself and your childhood experiences, the more I think that you are not Autistic. You may have a different neurodiverse condition but I do not think it's Autism.

FireMonkey, your daughter sounds like a really lovely person. You and your wife must have been great parents. You are so blessed to have her.

There are absolutely levels in autism. I like how the DSM categorized autism into 3 levels. The levels are clearly defined based on how much support a person requires as a result of their autism.

Level 1: Requiring support
Level 2: Requiring substantial support
Level 3: Requiring very substantial support

Where as with functioning labels it was you were either high functioning or low functioning with no room in between. Functioning labels were also not clearly defined. For instance many people who ascribe to functioning labels will assume any autistic person who can type on forums like these is automatically "high functioning" regardless of how much support that person requires. A person can require very substantial support and still be able to use AAC/type. Carly Fleischmann, Diego Peña, Emma Zucher-Long, Ido Kedar and Philip Reyes are examples of this. An autistic person can also require very substantial support and not have an intellectual disability.

Also if I recall correctly, the difference between Asperger's and [i]high functioning autism[i] were Asperger's didn't have delayed speech in early childhood. I don't think this should matter for an overall diagnosis.

I found a thread on Reddit titled "[MASTER POST] What autistic people with high support needs want others to know".

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

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. Here are excerpt comments from that thread.

Masking itself is not a privilege.

Having to be forced to mask without a choice is still much of a lack of choice.

Even IF said masking 'opens doors', there are still unpleasant consequences -- different from those who cannot or don't mask, but an unpleasant consequence nonetheless, especially done against one's will.

Yet those who cannot mask has lesser choices than those who can mask -- because unmasking may eventually be a choice for them.

Even if those who cannot mask never have confronted of the unpleasant consequences of having to mask and maintain, not masking does still bring unpleasant consequences potentially more severe.
Different, but nonetheless an unpleasant consequence.


Having a choice to mask AND unmask IS a/THE privilege.
The real privilege is to get away with both ways of masking -- passing, blending without worry -- and unmasking -- expectations or exemptions of judgments.


From, me -- a ridiculously privileged autistic. Though not a really privileged person mind you, which is an entirely different premise.

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This isn't a competition. We shouldn't be making it one.

Each Autistic person's needs are equally valid and should be met. People who need carers 24/7 should have them and should be as respected as anyone who can live independently and should be cared for with absolute dignity and respect. Autistic people who need support in different ways and on differing time schedules should also be cared for as they need to be with absolute dignity and respect. As a community, we should not be arguing about support needs and whose support needs are more valid. They are equally valid. They are just different.

Autism is not a disease, but I like to use cancer as an example. There are people who have cancer who are treated on an outpatient basis. They go to the hospital once a week or whenever their treatment schedule is, they have chemo and then they go home. One of my family members does this for his cancer. But there are also cancer patients who have to be in the hospital 24/7 and who are in need of 24/7 intense care because of the nature of their cancer.

The cancer that my relative has isn't "mild cancer." If he is not treated the way that he needs to receive treatment it will kill him. People who are in intense hospital care will also die if their cancer isn't treated the way that it needs to be treated. But they don't argue with each other about whose support needs are more valid. They are equally valid.

Now the difference between the cancer example and how it works in the Autism world is that Autistic people with support needs that are not as visibly obvious, or what people think of as "lesser" support needs, are told that their needs should not me met at all because there are Autistic people who have "greater" support needs. Or people try to convince us that our needs are not real or that they don't actually exist. I think that this is the actual problem.

It's as if the person who needs cancer treatment as an outpatient were told, because other people with cancer need 24/7 in hospital care, we will insist that you don't need any care or treatment at all because your cancer is "mild." So anytime you ask for help with your cancer, you will get told, "No, your cancer is 'just mild' so you don't qualify for any kind of help at all and you just have to fend for yourself." Or what if that person were told, your cancer isn't "cancerous enough", or your needs shouldn't be met because we don't believe that they exist? This person will still die of cancer. He might not die in a week like the person in the hospital will if his treatment gets cut off, but he will still end up dying of cancer and his life expectancy will be cut way short and he will suffer greatly along the way.

It is important that severity be understood in more than just one way. Do Autistic people who are visibly extremely challenged deserve all of the help they can get? Of course they do. And as a community we, who are able to communicate in ways that nts can easily understand, need to fight alongside them and help articulate what they tell us that they need so that we can support their efforts in being treated well and in being able to thrive. But on the flip side, those of us whose needs and severity levels are not visibly or readily obvious, also need to be supported in the ways that help us and keep us alive and thriving. If we could stop making this some kind of sick competition and support one another, those who are more able to articulate supporting those who can't as well as those who are more obviously severe, understanding and supporting those who are not as obviously severe, we might be able to make a lot more progress in getting society to change.

^ I don't see it as a competition. I do it see it, as with mental illness, as a situation where resources are thin on the ground and it's a post code lottery as to the level and quality of help and support you can get .

I first saw a pdoc c October 1973 . First hospitalised May 1975. Asperger's dx May 2019. That can not be judged as acceptable even if the ASD was judged to be level 1 . My daughter who has done quite a bit of work with autistic people has said that my primary issue has always been the autism, and failure to recognise that worsened secondary mental health issues. That's not something that makes me resentful and angry towards other autistic people , except when they play the 'It couldn't have been that bad to get such a late diagnosis' card. It does however make me feel a lot of negative things about a system that allowed that to happen.