low functioning vs high functioning

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low functioning vs high functioning Autism I think are two completely different things one is a disorder( low functioning) and the other (high functioning) is like being gay which is no longer classified as a mental disorder it's just that some people are different. I believe they are two completely different things that were accidentally misclassified what are your thoughts on this subject?

No, because it's not like we can even get along well amongst ourselves.

Even high functioning autistics trying to communicate with each other leads to messes, hurt and misunderstandings. Even if we're both aware of how our brains work.

We still have something wrong with us.

I kinda get by, but the dealing with other people aspect of life is a hell for me and I'm unbearably lonely.

On the outside, no one would know.

sorry if I make any spelling or grammar mistakes am kind of tired. it's a sign of intelligence not to get along with everybody. also if you need a friend just pm me mean. but I will elaborate more elaborate on my theory went am less
tired

One of the posters from this forum made a very important comment about "high functioning":

"My 'mild' autism does not mean I experience my autism mildly. It means you experience my autism mildly"

They are both autism, they both involve the same traits, the major difference is severity of the these traits.

A person with Stage 4 tongue cancer has a very different experience and needs than a person with stage 0 tongue cancer but there is no widespread feeling that these two people have a totally separate condition.

There are people that are mildly depressed, and some that literally can't get out of bed except to try to commit suicide. We don't generally say they have two different conditions.

Why high functioning VS low functioning? Is this some sort of competition?

.

Just because there is overlap between the sets of symptoms doesn't necessarily mean there's a common etiology.

There are MANY etiologies within the entity known as "autism." This is why there will never be one "cure" for it. And why there shouldn't be a "cure," anyway.

The "cure" is to make the best of it with the cards that you were dealt. This includes implementing interventions and treatments---making sure their usefulness is well-documented, and not the product of some snake-oil salesperson.

Most have to do with genes and chromosomes.

There are also many "presentations" within autism. Autism runs the gamut as far as "functioning" is concerned.

"Functioning" of an autistic person may vary depending on several factors, some of them external. Everyone functions better when their overall health is good and worse with chronic diseases or physical disabilities. One does not need to be autistic to feel the difference.

An example of external factor - I can live fully functionally without driving a car in an European city but it would be a serious disability in rural US.

Absolutely. In most parts of the US, you absolutely HAVE to have a car, and to be able to drive, to be a "fully-functioning adult."

I would say it's the same in rural parts of Europe, too.

London and NYC have similar transportation systems. London's is probably more prompt than NYC's. We have a decent transportation system in Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Not so good on the West Coast. Many European cities have excellent tram networks, too, in the absence of "metros."

Your functioning level depends on how much help you need to get by in life.
If you are lucky your weaknesses don't affect that, so your functioning may be high even though you are severely autistic.

Yep. That could happen.

Someone who is highly intelligent may be better at masking or working around their weaknesses so that they can get by without assistance.

For instance, in a work situation someone who can do difficult things may be able to get out of stuff they can't handle by making it easier for everyone around them to do their work. It takes a lot of intelligence to do this without being taken advantage of or making other employees around them resentful. Technically this person is getting assistance but the assistance they are getting doesn't count toward a determination of functioning level.

Maybe a stupid question,but are we comparing people on the spectrum to people not on the spectrum or to other people on the spectrum re functioning ?

I don't think I fit low functioning , but I'm not at all sure I'm high functioning . If left completely to my own devices I'd struggle to maintain a healthy level of independence.

In autism, "high functioning" and " low functioning" refer to IQ score not Global Area Functioning


Some autistics function great at Global Area Functioning and are "low functioning" autism

Basically, to clinicians until very recently, you are a "high-functioning" autistic person if you have an IQ over 70, regardless of how you "function" in society. This was never an "official" diagnosis. It was more a layman's term, for convenience.