This information was originally posted by calista, i don't know where he got it from but it's a facinating look at functioing levels
Let's conconsider the 50th to 95th percentile as regular high functioing autism/aspergers and the 25th and 5th percentile as mid functioning.
Quote:
Employment:
95th percentile: Successful; may be highly paid; highly competent; respected in their profession.
75th percentile: Steady job in their area of interest.
50th percentile: Repeated tries to get employed; eventually found a job that they could keep. Generally has some problems with co-workers, but is a good, hard-working employee. By middle age will have a steady job, though perhaps not an ideal one.
25th percentile: Repeated short-term employment. May be working in supported employment, or may be on disability. May be doing volunteer work or part-time work or be employed by family.
5th percentile: Unemployed and unemployable. On disability; cannot work in supported employment. Probably does chores around the house and/or helps take care of self.
Family (Does not apply to those who don't want to marry):
95th percentile: Good marriage, strong family connections. If a homemaker, is capable and competent.
75th percentile: Married; some marital problems, but none unmanageable. Will probably be a good, though fallible, parent. Will probably need to have "time alone" away from family but can arrange it without problems.
50th percentile: Has probably been married, or is married, but with problems. May have poor communication with spouse. May have fallen into an abusive relationship. Requires "alone time".
25th percentile: Has had romantic relationships; may have had a child, and will probably need help from family to raise the child. May be overloaded by presence of family and need to live alone even if married.
5th percentile: Wants romance, but does not have the skills required to find a partner.
Self-care:
95th percentile: Lives independently; takes care of all own affairs.
75th percentile: Lives independently; does all own basic self-care; may need help with unusually difficult things like buying a new home, but can find help independently.
50th percentile: Lives independently; does all own basic self-care; needs occasional help with things like doing taxes, finding a new doctor, moving, etc.
25th percentile: Does all own basic self-care; lives with family or roommates. May not be able to drive. Needs occasional help with things like shopping, paying bills, cleaning the house.
5th percentile: Probably does basic self-care, but with help. Unable to drive; likely needs companion or service animal when outside the home independently. Lives with family or in assisted living facility/group home, or employs an aide.
Education (Assuming it is desired):
95th percentile: Doctoral degree or master's degree; law school, medical school; may be a professional researcher, professor, engineer. Probably making new contributions to his field.
75th percentile: Master's degree, multiple bachelors degrees, or may be an autodidact with post-graduate level knowledge in areas of interest.
50th percentile: College graduate or associate's degree; average grades. May have learning disabilities. Probably still quite motivated toward academics in areas of interest.
25th percentile: High school graduate or GED; probably needed special education and/or an aide in school. May go to trade school or go for a professional certificate. Probably has learning disabilities.
5th percentile: Special education diploma; probably required special classroom. Areas of talent are likely to be non-educational (art, music, etc.). Unlikely to achieve high-school-level education.
Friendships & Social Skills:
95th percentile: Extroverts will have many friends; introverts, a few close friends they depend on. Social skills are mostly automatized, though likely still needs to relax after a day spent with others.
75th percentile: Some friends; many acquaintances. Can effectively communicate with NTs and is not thought of as threatening, though may be perceived as eccentric or quirky. Proficient in social skills, but only with a good amount of effort. Will likely be exhausted after a few hours of socializing.
50th percentile: A few close friends; extroverts will also have many acquaintances. Probably thought of as odd by most people. Can communicate with NTs but occasionally misreads messages or sends the wrong message. Will likely be able to sustain socialization for an hour or two at a time.
25th percentile: One or two friends. Most people think of him as odd or eccentric and a few people perceive him as unpredictable or threatening. Can communicate with NTs, but often miscommunicates. May not be able to deal with misread communication; may be unaware of miscommunication when it occurs. May have problems with things like using the phone, talking to a grocery store clerk. May not be able to approach strangers.
5th percentile: May have no friends, or may have one or two close friends who have learned to communicate with him effectively. May not be able to communicate what is desired at will, and probably cannot read body language or facial expression. His oddity is obvious to strangers, and he is likely to be unable to initiate social interaction at will. Body language may be misread by police as "drunk" or "aggressive".
Meltdowns:
95th percentile: Meltdowns are absent except during extreme stress (loss of a loved one, major disaster, etc.) because this person has learned to predict and prevent them.
75th percentile: Meltdowns and shutdowns may occur, but can predict them and go to a private place; most of the time, able to prevent meltdowns.
50th percentile: Meltdowns/shutdowns are common, but do not endanger anyone. Able to predict/prevent them to a good extent and only rarely has a meltdown/shutdown in public.
25th percentile: Can control meltdowns/shutdowns somewhat, but often ends up embarrassing himself in public anyway. Meltdowns/shutdowns may be unpredictable. May need to wear MedicAlert for instances where speech is shut down or he is unable to calm himself. Assistance animal or companion may be useful.
5th percentile: Needs to have someone with him in case of meltdowns. May hit anyone within range, destroy objects, etc. Has little ability to prevent meltdowns and is unaware of most triggers and stressors. May be using or considering taking major tranquilizers (Risperdal, etc.) to try to deal with meltdowns.
Executive Functioning:
95th percentile: Has some minor problems with concentration, planning, but has developed systems that work for them so that they are able to cope as well as the average NT or even better.
75th percentile: Has problems with concentration/planning and transitions, and has compensatory systems that work most of the time. May be thrown off by new schedules or unexpected events.
50th percentile: Has problems with concentration, planning, transitions, unexpected events, task-switching, time management, etc. Probably diagnosed with ADHD as well as autism. Compensating somewhat by the use of lists/planners/reminders but still tends to lose track of time. May be quite overwhelmed after a transition like a move or a new job and have a much higher stress level.
25th percentile: Has severe problems with executive functioning, but not so severe that they threaten basic self-care ability. Probably has difficulty keeping house clean; may have a lot of clutter or be a pack rat, or may need everything to be in the exact same place at all times. Probably has unpredictable sleeping and eating patterns; or may hold so strictly to a schedule that he is unable to cope with things that throw off the schedule. Likely to have transition-triggered meltdowns/shutdowns. Compensatory strategies are somewhat helpful but do not allow complete independence.
5th percentile: Executive functioning difficulty affects self-care. May forget to eat or clean self; may have problems like not being able to put on a shirt if it is hung backward in the closet. Changes in routine ruin their whole day. May need someone to prompt them through multi-step tasks.
Speech/Language:
95th percentile: Able to speak whenever they desire. Has learned casual speech; has learned to use tone of voice. Able to change vocabulary and style to suit the audience they are speaking to.
75th percentile: Speech may be formal or have odd cadence, but is understandable by NTs. Can use tone of voice, etc., if concentrating in a quiet environment.
50th percentile: Speech is formal, robotic, and definitely odd, but still communicative and original. May occasionally lose access to speech during extreme stress. May supplement speech with writing, sign, or other non-speech symbolic language.
25th percentile: Speech is available most of the time, but occasionally lapses into scripts and functional echolalia; OR may use a communication device, sign language, or other non-speech symbolic communication. Able to express own ideas most of the time. May have problems with figurative language.
5th percentile: Speech consists mostly of communicative or non-communicative echolalia, scripts, non-grammatical sentences or single words. Probably supplements speech with PECS, simplified sign, gesture. Often frustrated by inability to communicate when desired. May be completely non-verbal but has probably learned some form of communication to compensate.
Sensory:
95th percentile: Has few sensory issues, and has learned to deal effectively with those they have.
75th percentile: Has a few sensory issues which can be annoying/distracting but not extreme. May require some minor accommodations (incandescent lighting, cotton clothing, etc.)
50th percentile: Sensory issues are definite and cause problems, some of which are difficult to solve. Probably has issues with things like TV monitors, seams in clothing, texture of food. Takes active steps to adjust the sensory environment to reduce stress level, but is not always successful. May be unusually vulnerable to injury because of undersensitivity.
25th percentile: Sensory issues are a major source of stress, and careful planning is required to manage them. May have a restricted diet. Probably has delayed processing of sensory information; probably qualifies for auditory processing disorder and other sensory processing disorders. If undersensitive, may have had one or more significant injuries due to being unaware of or unable to process pain; or may be undersensitive to heat/cold to the point of wearing T-shirts in freezing weather.
5th percentile: Sensory issues likely cause multiple meltdowns/shutdowns per week. Restricted diet is likely. Sensory processing is likely to be conscious and difficult, especially under stress; raw sensory data is not necessarily given meaning by the brain unless effort is made. May be unable to detect serious medical problems or injuries. May be unable to detect heat/cold. May be unable to detect source of sensory discomfort/stress.
Not it's really aimed at adult autistics, so younger autistics like me (18) will naturally come off as lower
You may answer like this for convenience:
Employment = 5th
Family= DNA (does not apply)
Self Care = 5th
Education = 25th
Friendships & Social Skills = 5th
Meltdowns = 50th
Executive Functionin = 50th
Speech = 50th
Sensory = 25th
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'not only has he hacked his intellect away from his feelings, but he has smashed his feelings and his capacity for judgment into smithereens'.
22 Jul 2011, 5:59 am
Not at all sure on this one.
