am I low functioning autistic?

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I read somewhere here that if someone on the autism spectrum was a late talker that means that person is low functioning autisitc but I''m not sure where I am on the spectrum. I am married , have 1 ( Nt) son, and do a full time job as a bus driver. But I was very low functioning as a child...I didn't speak at all until I was 8 years old and I had to have an adult with me at all times during the day because I had no sense of of danger and was vulnerable, but was disconnected from the world so I couldn't be punished or taught the way other children can.

Would thatmake me low functioning or high functioning? I do have learning difficultes as well as autism.

I think functioning is determined by how much self care someone can manage. Some autistic people can never look after themselves, go shopping or keep clean etc. I think people such as these may be labelled 'low functioning', but it's not a very nice term because it kind of writes people off and reduces them as people. From what I understand, the IQ level is often not affected in autism, so you can have someone who is of normal intelligence, but they can't perform full self care functions. I think this is why neurotypicals generally regard us as being stupid or the 'r' word.

I think that if you're holding down a job and are married with a kid then you're doing just fine. Many neurotypicals can't manage those things.

Also, individual capabilities vary so much in autism and someone may be really intelligent in some ways, but totally hopeless in other ways. There are deficits in their functioning which are at odds with their IQ level.

Intellectual disability does make autism even more complex for some. I do not have intellectual disability, though my abilities to solve problems is all over the place (good to poor). So, I have moderate to high-functioning. This makes me a challenge for specific services, yet interesting.

Sounds like high-functioning autism.

I have high-functioning Asperger's, because I learnt to talk at average stage and reached all my other milestones at average stages as a baby. The only thing holding me back as an adult is anxiety and lack of confidence. But anxiety and lacking confidence sounds like personality quirks that can be cured, but my anxiety is more serious than that.

If you had severe or low functioning autism, you would know it. You would have been formally diagnosed with Kanner's autism in early childhood and it would have completely dominated your entire life. You would need constant care like an invalid. The odds of me being able to just get on a bus and ride from point a to point b, with no assistance is extremely low. The odds of me ever being a bus driver are a billion to one.