Low Functioning autism

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This site is designed for autistics such as myself, with also parents that are wondering about the spectrum and want to go depth with information from those that are on the spectrum. Here's the thing though, the majority of users on this forum have Aspergers/high functioning Autism, with few that have PDD-NOS and hardly any low functioning autistics at all. It's seems that we've never hear the voice of the voiceless auties that have trouble communicating with neurotypicals on a daily basis. How can we attract those with low functioning autism to come onto this forum and chat/discuss things with those that are more higher functioning then themselves?

@wtfid2: Where did you hear that? Or did you just assume that lower functioning autistics are ret*d?

People come on here at their own will, so I would just leave the matter alone and let everyone speak for themselves. As great as this website is, it isn't something that will please everyone.

No, it is not a stereotype, it is the definition - or, more exactly, HFA is usually defined as "autism without mental retardation"; then, by exclusion, LFA is "autism + mental retardation".

However, autistic individuals usually have peak of performance in certain areas where they function much higher than should be expected by their IQ only (and IQ measures are usually not much certain for autistic people), and I remember the forum having "LFA" members, with IQs supposedly in the 60-70 range, that usually posted very interesting posts.

Look at you guys, arguing over terminology.

Okay, the facts: "Low functioning autism" has no official definition. That's why you guys are arguing--you've all heard different definitions (nonverbal, low IQ, less independent, whatever). None of which is official. "Low functioning" is just a doctor's label that means what the doctor thinks it means, and probably means something else to the next doctor.

We do have some people here who can type, but not talk. We have some people who can type, but not talk reliably. We have some people here who cannot live on their own. We have the parents of children who are non-verbal in the parents' section. We have some people with low IQ scores, but you have to remember that IQ tests aren't very valid for telling us anything about an autistic person's capabilities, because we tend to have very wide gaps between skills and atypical development.

Wrong Planet has historically been associated more with Asperger's because that's what Alex has, but I've never wanted it to be limited to people who can talk or who have high IQs. A lot of the new autism diagnoses were "stolen" from what used to be called Mental Retardation; these people were found to be autistic rather than intellectually disabled, or autistic in addition to being intellectually disabled, so it's common to see the two things together. And while most autistic people learn to speak, there's a significant minority for whom verbal communication will always be difficult, even in adulthood, or even impossible.

It doesn't make sense to talk about autistic people being either smarter or not as smart as NTs. We're just too variable for that. We've got geniuses and we've got people who are profoundly intellectually disabled, and everything in between. Making a categorical statement about autistics and intelligence--especially when autism as a category is still so very much in flux--doesn't help us any because it can't make any predictions about any particular autistic person.

I'd like more severely autistic people around here. We have a few, but there aren't enough to be truly representative of the larger population, and of course some can't read and write, so their families would have to represent them.

What percentage of autistic adults can speak?

The reason you don't see as many LF people is because they typically have more issues with communication.