Question about diagnosis

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I have a question about my diagnosis. Is High Functioning Autism an actual diagnosis or is it just a term used by people? High functioning autism is stated on my medical records but Asperger's is also stated there. Is HFA not an actual diagnosis? I'm getting conflicting messages.

Nobody knows? Okay then.

"High functioning autism" is not an actual diagnosis. It's simply what a doctor says when they diagnose autism in someone, and that person fits the doctor's personal idea of "high-functioning". There's no consistency from doctor to doctor about what "high-functioning" means; so generally it's a good idea to just ignore the term.

Your actual diagnosis is probably either Asperger's or classic autism, or maybe they put both on your record (they do that sometimes). The two are pretty much identical in verbal, independent adults from both categories--they're different only in childhood history. Since Asperger's is a type of autism, many Aspies simply identify as "autistic" in general, preferring to avoid splitting hairs over the specific diagnosis.