Those extremely high-functioning?

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I'm very high-functioning as well, enough to appear "normal" most of the time, but I don't get what the OP means by being "above Aspie/HFA" and "being normal in every aspect of life" because how are you an Aspie then? You can live a pretty much normal life as an Aspie, but you aren't a normal person if you are an Aspie, and there was obviously some level of "not-normal" you had to work through to live a normal life, as others described it feels like a performance at times.

We have the skills to appear normal but we still think differently. Also, my emotions and meltdowns are off the chart when I’m super stressed. But I’ve never had them in public. I’ve waited to get into the car to go nuts. In my opinion, being high functioning has stopped me from getting help. I was tested as gifted as a kid, topped the class in a lot of subjects, trained at a high level in my chosen field, have letters after my name and yet I’m homeless and jobless and help agencies won’t touch me because I look and sound fine. I’m slowly wasting my life and I don’t know if I care anymore because there’s not much I can do to change.

Functioning labels aren't static and don't really mean much. I work, own my home, and all the usual "high-functioning stuff" . I can also have meltdowns, shutdowns, and periods where I am non-verbal, and just can't cope.

I can be at a party, or just walking down the street and the casual observer probably won't notice anything unusual, but that takes a tremendous effort and energy...some days my batteries run down too soon and I flap, rock, chew and am probably as "low-functioning" as I can be.

Besides rare exceptions, people don't notice that I have asperger's. A qualified therapist would probably have noticed in high school. People usually find me nice but weird. I can socialise on a casual level but I have a really hard time making friends and fitting in a group. I almost completely self reliant, but I need a lot of emotional support, I still rely on my parents to coach me through bigger changes like buying a house or a car. I have a steady job and a boyfriend, but I still can't live with him, I get really grumpy when I have another human near me for too long.

I'm high functioning enough to be able to appear 'normal' to people. Those that meet me and know me casually might think I'm a little weird and shy/quiet but typically haven't a thought that I'm not NT.

I don't think that says much though. Most people who do not have someone that is already on the spectrum do not know or have the awareness to spot someone that is higher functioning that is on the spectrum. They know the general hallmarks of classic autism that which have a stronger visibility.

I'm not not so fond of high or low functioning descriptions, mostly because I don't think it accurately describes my experience. My autistic symptoms fluctuate; sometimes they're most fitting a level one (DSM 5 levels), other times they're more appropriate to be categorised in level 3. When they're bad my functionality goes down, when I'm 'up' my functionality improves. Also typically when I'm among others I am in a 'performance' mode and thus not going to appear as... as I actually am.

Sometimes I feel on the same wavelength with NTs but during conversations, I find myself getting quite worked up while trying to explain something and then realise that what I'm trying to say is pretty unimportant and that my mind is kind of galloping.

I thought I was pretty normal for 19 years. I'm 20ish now but didn't want to put my real age in the profile (security).

After being diagnosed I actually got MORE normal because I now knew what was going on and basically jailbroke my own brain, like people hack computers. It can be a freeing thing.

I'm still odd, though, but it's not hurting me too much from living a normal life. I only hope I can get situated in a good quiet place when I move out. Horses wouldn't be too bad. Then again, having a degree and a job would help too. We'll see.

I was "normal" enough until life's stress became overwhelming. When my kids were toddlers and I had to look after them plus my old grandma, and my sick brother. Then my dad got diagnosed with cancer. I developed anxiety and just couldn't cope with everyday life any more. I'm HFA all right, but I do think I need to have realistic expectations. We can't have it all. Like Temple Grandin did great in her career, but never tried starting a family. I have family and health, but I don't have a career. I still haven't got my anxiety under control (I am med-free right now) so I have to pace myself and relax a lot. A normal person probably thinks I'm lazy. But I don't want to go crazy and get locked up.

I'm competent and high functioning at my career and tasks. But when someone comes into my space to aggravate me, that's when it becomes obvious. I'm fine with a brief 'hello, how are you?' I'm good with, "would you mind helping me with X?" I can ask for help, etc... But, if someone comes in with a vibe and an agenda that impedes my progress, they may get blasted into orbit. And, I'm not all that sorry about it either.

I can mask at great personal cost, but no I have an intense amount of difficulty achieving so called normal benchmark expectations. It's a confusing place to be.