Asperger's is high-functioning, not mild

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Cockroach96
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13 Aug 2015, 2:34 pm

It's often called "a mild form of autism".
In reality, there is no such thing as mild/strong ASD. Autism can be low-functioning, high-functioning or in- between. My social impairment is not mild at all.
Don't you hate it when people say Asperger's is a mild disorder?


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ToughDiamond
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13 Aug 2015, 3:02 pm

Depends on how they mean it. ASD is mild compared to full-blown autism or terminal cancer. But ASD often isn't mild in the sense that we have negligible difficulty in living fulfilling lives. It's not mild when it stops you from getting a degree or a job concomitant with your intelligence and academic abilities. The effects of the social impairments alone are often pretty serious, as the human species is so socially-driven. Then there's the executive disfunction and the hypersensitivity to small physical irritations.



glebel
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13 Aug 2015, 3:03 pm

I think it's all relative, mainly how we feel at any given moment. Some days it is mild to me, other days it isn't.


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13 Aug 2015, 3:21 pm

glebel wrote:
I think it's all relative, mainly how we feel at any given moment. Some days it is mild to me, other days it isn't.


I agree. Here's a video produced by autie/aspie Amethyst Schaber talking about why functioning labels aren't accurate or efficient: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLJXqlOPZ5U.


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ASPartOfMe
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13 Aug 2015, 4:02 pm

Functioning and severity can be 2 different things. Functioning involves interactions with others or society. Severity is intensity of traits. They are often but not always related. You can be mildly autistic but if you are in an uber extroverted environment where social communication abilities are the most important thing you will not function well.

And yes there is such a thing as moderately and severe Aspergers. I am sick of everybody trying to write off anybody who is not the mildest autistic as not Aspergers.


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Rudin
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13 Aug 2015, 7:04 pm

Cockroach96 wrote:
It's often called "a mild form of autism".
In reality, there is no such thing as mild/strong ASD. Autism can be low-functioning, high-functioning or in- between. My social impairment is not mild at all.
Don't you hate it when people say Asperger's is a mild disorder?



Aspergers is a mild form of autism and in order to get a diagnosis of Aspergers, one must be high functioning otherwise the diagnosis will be classical autism.

By "mild" they mean less severe then classical autism.


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