Functioning Level with Asperger's

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How is this assessed? I'm supposed to go in for an assessment to see if my functioning level is low enough to qualify for DD services.

I don't work. I can't drive. I need family financial support to get by. I need help from others sometimes to organize.

But my verbal IQ is 131.

I wonder if I will "pass."

What's involved in that? Does anyone know?

Hasn't anyone had a level of functioning test they can share with me how it went?

technically,aspies cannot be anything but 'high functioning',though the autistic community sees it differently,the functioning level is commonly still judged on communication ability and IQ [aspergers doesn't include stronger communication problems,low skills ability is not allowed and IQ cannot be on the mental retardation spectrum so that would make all aspies HF by default].

those care assessments are really to see what needs have got,if have got high needs,moderate needs,low needs,complex needs etc.

am have no idea if would pass,as they may be like here as well,with some areas having more funding to accept lesser affected,others-like the LD services am a client of only accepts those with the highest needs.
but dont think too much about it,and wait for an answer first as it could be that will get accepted.

Seconded...

If you're talking about a different level of "functioning" then you're not talking about aspergers.

It's harder for us aspies to get aid, but not impossible. You'll have to show how Asperger's has affected your life. In my case, I am more prone to meltdowns if my break time keeps changing. I also have a difficult time working with co-workers over an extended period of time. And I can't "suck it up" when people irk me.

I agree also. Maditude has a point also though.

These days, it's pretty much accepted that there is no clinical difference between aspergers and high functioning autism. (got that straight from Tony Attwood).

In that sense, you're high functioning.

Maditude's point is correct. The only way to get assistance is to demonstrate impact. It's not a numerical degree of functioning though, it will be a few lines of text explaining how the condition impacts your ability to "compete" with NTs.

You might use the aspergers diagnostic criteria as a starting point but you'll probably need to translate these to real life examples of how it creates problems for you.

There's something funny about that: I actually think he is using a different definition of "HFA" than what many people think of.

In the paper that says the same thing, he says that Leo Kanner described the aloof and severe child back in '46 [or whenever], but there's a problem here: all of Leo Kanner's children had "HFA" in that they had a normal or above IQ, and nearly all of them had speech. One was ostensibly AS (the one who kept on asking lucid questions).

He may just be equating HFA to the active and odd/formal and stilted subgroups that Lorna Wing postulated (he does say that Hans described the individual who partook in odd and eccentric social interaction), and the aloof/passive groups as LFA, no matter what their IQ and level of speech are.

It just doesn't make sense the other way, as it contradicts itself.

My impression is that "high functioning" for us means you don't need to live in an instutution or have someone come in to help you with basic tasks, and that the term arose back when problem people were routinely warehoused in institutions.

Interestingly, I went in to an advocacy office once some time ago, and we were discussing my disabilities. The guy was helping me with the old cook-the-book application for disability support that we used to have in BC, since the autism society didn't have a clue. He didn't know anything about autism, so he was beefing up my credentials as a cripple with fibromyalgia. When I mentioned the term "high functioning", he said, quite strongly, that he had never heard the term "high functioning" applied to fibromyalgia - it's always considered worse than that.

So be careful with the term "high functioning". Some people may take it to mean "not really disabled", rather than "doesn't need care 24/7".

They should change the term. "High functioning" is a relative term, as it is compared to "low functioning" people with autism. People think it means high functioning overall, which isn't the case.

I'm probably low-functioning for someone with AS. I don't drive, I can't take classes I'm not interested in, I'm too lazy to cook or clean, I get too stressed to even make a resume.

I think most practioners define 'high functioning autism' as still requiring a certain amount of assistance or accomdation in order to live independently no matter how the term is defined in texts. The extent of that accomdation can vary widely from one individual to another who share almost identical diagnosis so it becomes a very individual determination.

I think most practioners define 'high functioning autism' as still requiring a certain amount of assistance or accomdation in order to live independently no matter how the term is defined in texts. The extent of that accomdation can vary widely from one individual to another who share almost identical diagnosis so it becomes a very individual determination.

i would of thought its something you work out yourself from experience

If you worked it out yourself, you would eventually become an NT. Some aspects do lessen over time, others do not. The sensory issues never go away. There are ways to cope with them, but they never really go away.

i didnt mean work it out as in become more normal i meant to decide how functioning you are