The Autism spectrum - All related or different DXs?

Post Reply New Topic

Do you think HFA and LFA are both related? well I know it's quite common knowledge but I don't understand reality wise how is that (without offending anyone ofc! I am only writing out of interest in the topic)

When Hans Asperger first described he observed lack of empathy in children and called it autistic psychopathy aka autistic personality disorder "autism" meaning one being self convened...

Well then there was the question what's the different between Narcissism and Autism? well the obvious answer being a narcissist have okay to good social skills in general but selectively feels confident or incofident depends on whoever he's with while the guy on the Autism spectrum is also self convened but have trouble with perceiving social cues thus failing through out far more social situations...

My DX process was extremely vague because I was bullied in school, had no friends, no confidence, while graduating from high school moving on had a great impact on me boosting up my confidence, I learned "manually" all the social things I needed and became very hard to assess - thus they had to constantly change my DX and decide upon a differentiation between AS which for sure I have and Emotionally unstable traits which I practically suffered from gravely during teenage until my early 20s (now 23) - including mood swings, anger, black or white thinking and over-responsiveness to emotional input.

Well that lasted for quite a while since I was like 16 for 5 or 6 years then gradually and slowly faded away, having me completely confused as both friends and professionals alike contradicted themselves several times as to my PDD (which is confirmed don't worry about it haha)

BUT.

That made me think^^ Having seen and known both HFAs and LFAs... how does the two most extreme ends of the spectrum relate to each other? how are they both developmental disorder? (remember developmental delay is NOT required for DX. I never had one and never was in special ed)

Autism does affect personality BUT to what degree?

All those questions I'm afraid I am not able to answer....

I think autism just describes symptoms, which may be due to many different causes.

I think of it in comparison to a fever.

You can have a high fever or a low fever, or somewhere in between, but once the temperature passes a certain degrees, you meet the criteria for having fever. Just like you have different functionings of autism.

One fever might be due to the flu, and another might be due to pneumonia, and so on. They all have in common that the body temperature is raised. Different causes of fevers have different prognoses. For example, a case of fever due to meningitis generally has poorer prognosis than a case of fever due to a cold. Just like that, the prognosis for every case of autism is different because for all we know, there are many causes. I think that explains why some cases of autism get better while others remain static or even get worse.

Narcissists do have empathy but they just don't care. Your feelings are not their concern and it's not their problem what they do will affect you and they will do whatever they want. That is their lack of empathy because they do not care, they don't care how they make you feel or how their actions will affect you even if it means costing you your job or your good credit score Now autistic people on the other hand do not realize how their actions will affect others and they do care so very much and are shocked when they find out how they were perceived or how they made someone feel. But that is their lack of empathy there.

HFA and LFA are on the same spectrum but someone with HFA can have the exact same symptoms as someone with LFA but their are to a lighter degree than to someone who is LFA. A HFA person can have the sensory sensitives like someone with LFA, mind blindness, lack of TOM, have a need for routines and have a meltdown if disrupted, fear of change, but the only difference is they're verbal and can drive or live on their own and have a job but that depends on what you mean by HFA. I would say Ben Affleck in The Accountant was very high functioning because he drove, had a house, a job and can talk so well to people and he could take care of himself well and he worked like James Bond because of his job. He worked like a secret agent and he saved a woman. But yet he still had his restricted routines at home and took his pills exactly at 10PM and one day the clock didn't go off so he was late only by one minute and he had an outburst and threw his pills and then he calmed down and took one. He said in the movie he still had troubles with communication and he still looked at patterns and self stimulated. One thong we had in common was his dad seemed to be my mother lol because he also wanted him out in the real world and have him learn to deal with the world and the sounds, not have him be locked away protected. His dad obviously wanted him to be independent and taught him self defense so he knew how to fight. My mom never taught me any fighting.


I am confused about how one doesn't have a developmental delay but is still autistic. Unless you aren't on the spectrum and I don't know it. But however a developmental delay doesn't always mean someone has a developmental disorder. Some kids are just behind and then they catch up and are no longer developmentally delayed and sometimes they have other disorders such as language impairment or communication impairment or dyspraxia or ADHD but none of them are developmental disorders. I don't know if they would still be considered developmentally delayed.

Ideally, HFA and LFA refer to the amount of services you need.
But, the services you need are also a function of your environment.

The same person may be classed as either HFA or LFA depending on the difficulty of his environment.

For instance, I am lucky enough to live in a nice quiet home all by myself instead of some noisy apartment.
I also have a job with a real office and a door I can close anytime I want to make things nice and quiet.
It is hard to function if you are melting down all the time.

I wonder why moderate-functioning isn't mentioned?

I have Asperger's, and I know it's on the spectrum but calling myself autistic just doesn't match my characteristics.
I have good ToM, I can express my feelings, I can read body language well, I can identify my own and other's emotions, I know when and how to be tactful, my obsessions aren't based on facts or logic (more based on people and social relationships), I like being touched, I enjoy gossip, I am very intimate with my boyfriend and find keeping up our relationship naturally easy...I could go on and on here.
But I still wouldn't say I'm not on the autism spectrum because I get anxious at unexpected change (like not finishing my shift on time), I can get offended by things other people don't, I avoid going out to bars and places like that, I get anxious and impatient in crowds, I've let my obsessions take over my life before, sometimes social interaction with people I don't know very well can feel awkward (although I like people), I get really anxious and almost mute when in an authorative position (like talking to customers), I can be childlike, I fear sudden loud noises (like dogs barking), and probably a few other traits I can't think of.

I do think Aspies are Autistic people for the "spectrum" reasons given above but if you believe Aspergers was taken away as an official diagnoses because there was little difference between it and Autism you have bought the party line. Aspergers was taken away because it was believed ASD's were being massively over-diagnosed and the sharp increase in autism diagnosis was costing school districts and insurance companies money. Aspergers was scapegoated. It is not me who is saying that, it was the people who made the change who said that in apparently unguarded moments.

Why Claim Asperger's is Overdiagnosed? Certainty but no evidence from some clinicians and researchers Posted Psychology Today Nov 21, 2012