Higher Functioning Aspies and Lower Functioning Aspies

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Yep I think that they can in a way...
No person with AS/HFA is the same, have their different strengths and weaknesses.
There is one thing that we all have in common though which is some degree of social/communication difficulties.

I guess that what i'm trying to say is that even though we may share the "trait" of social difficulties, some are more noticable than others.
Also some people with AS may have learn't to "blend in" more when around others, so they would be considered more high functioning I guess.

i'd consider myself higher functioning, i think...

So now I'm an HFA. I was just trying to deal with Aspie.

Learn more every day.

No, wait. Confusion. HFA = HF autism or HF Aspie and/or?

dp
Formerly Bipolar

I cannot see high/low.

I think we all get a mix, the main one is social impairment. The degree of social impairment affects everything.

We do change with age, in school I was nothing like NTs, I developed a social persona later, it worked.

I still sought low people contact jobs, but had good skills. When you are fixing the computers, blunt Aspie talk is OK. I could do people, but it tired me.

As I got yet older, I could manage people, but management is to keep yourself at a distance. As I got older yet, I lost any desire to know people.

Perhaps if my tech skills had been lower I would have been more of a people person, but only for work.

There are so many factors, family background, education, My family was the reason I spent a lot of time out in the world when young, home was not happy. I had to work, if I wanted to eat. That took developing skills. Survival skills are not social. I survived.

Getting out and far away, life was better, I had friends, it was based on survival. Older, somewhat ahead of survival, I quit people. Reading and educating myself was more important, for knowledge kept me from being caught in dead end jobs just to eat.

I was not impressed with many people. Many who had a better start than I, a good home, right through education, a good job, rose a bit, got the house, car, wife, kid, and stopped where they were when thirty. They to had no social life, work, home, waiting to die. They were NT. It is human nature to avoid humans.

I saw some that did something with life, and I admired them. They had less than I, but worked long toward a high goal. Many of them made it. Vision and persistance seem to be panhuman winners. Very low functioning by any measure have done well, through having a goal and persistance.

He ran a mop, cleaned toilets, everyone looked down on him, he never spoke, but he was making $14,75 an hour where those looking down made $8.50. They spent on clothes, nice places to live, cars, their social climbing, he lived in a room in a cellar, and rode the bus. He bought his house for cash. Then with that for leverage bought three rentals, and spent his time away from work fixing them, in five more years he owned several apartment buildings, and rented to $8.50 office workers. The halls were always mopped, the toilets worked. He could retire at thirty.

I say AS is 6,583%, it is a wide Dx, we each get 100%, no two the same. A super high IQ is worthless, if you never leave the house, and futher impairs interacting with normal people. It was explained to me, the most demanding jobs, take a max of 125 IQ, and there is no use for humans above that in this world.

We are each a Culture of One, WP is great because any one impairment is discussed. Any one is still another scale, mild, middle, I got that real bad.

Goals direct, you are going somewhere, and only take what you can carry. I do not have to solve all of AS to do what I do, I just have to work on it a lot. Things that get in the way will be dealt with, other things exist, but are as useful or limiting as Quadratic Equations. I have not found a use yet, and they do not get in my way.

Function is the key word, without it you are nothing. Functioning toward goals with persistance works for anyone.

The above describes me pretty well too!

(i.e. if all the people I know, who probably assume I'm just a rather weird NT, could see what I was like at home......!)

I believe that I would be classified as an underachieving high level Aspie . The problem with that classification is that I work circles around my NT co-workers (even if I'd rather 'talk' to a machine than my co-workers). So I guess that they all must be low level NT types . Hmmmm.... I see that a lot . Quite frankly , I would never trade my quirks and faux pas tendencies to be an NT like them , content in being fat and lazy , having their lovely conversations full of BS and trivialities . The "underachieving" part of the label is also inaccurate at best . I am content being a simple (and effective) mechanic . I do not need to advance to more responsibility to feed my ego (or pay the bills) . I like being who I am , eccentricities and all , and I simply cannot imagine myself any other way . (Wifey is nodding in agreement ; she thinks my symptoms are fun and funny and because of that , so do I) .
I really don't think this type of labeling is productive at all . One reason is that when we allow ourselves to be labeled we will tend to one degree or another conform to that label . This puts undue limits on our ability to overcome the obstacles AS puts in front of us .
In one scene of the film "Outlaw Josie Wales" the old Indian (the PC types luv me most of all) tells Josie that the US President spoke to an assembly of Indians and exhorted them to "endeavor to persevere" . The old Indian failed to grasp the meaning of those words . I did not . Those 3 words provided me with a lifetime motto to rise above myself and achieve things I could not have achieved otherwise .

The difference in my opinion is this if you are at work on your job:
High-functioning Aspies are accepted and actively sought out socially on an equal basis by NT coworkers.

Medium-functioning Aspies are accepted but not actively sought out socially by NT coworkers.

Low-functioning Aspies are not accepted by the peer group but tolerated in terms of doing the job.

That would make me an MFA.

But I can pass as an NT for short time...so MHFA.

You know, if I added those letters with a comma to the end of my name people would think I had a degree -- which I should have; it took 30 years to get these papers.

dp

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If evolution was outlawed, only outlaws would evolve.

I agree there can be a distinction, but it's difficult to define. On one hand, I consider myself a "high functioning Aspie" on the basis alone that people have no clue I'm autistic until I tell them. That being said, the people I would consider "low functioning Aspies" (stereotypical geeks who can't hold any semblance of a conversation, etc) often tend to be more successful than me...e.g, they have super specific interests that allows them to find others they have things in common with, and are able to apply those skills towards a job (computer programmer, to name the obvious). I am able to interview charmingly and read people fairly well, but at the end of the day, I can't keep a job and I can never seem to make friends, no matter what I do.

I think it's quite possible to go from low-functioning to high-functioning over time and as you grow up. I function quite well now, but I was socially crippled as a child/teen. I think it's much harder to cope as a child and as a teen because you lack the self-awareness at that developmental stage to analyze yourself and compensate for your difficulties. The fact that aspies are typically tormented by their peers during this time doesn't help - the usual reaction is to withdraw further into one's self instead of working more towards being socially promiscuous.

That's how I feel. Being stuck in the middle allows me to at least appear normal, and be able to pass interviews and make a few close friends, but Im afraid that I will be held back professionally because I don't have a super advanced skill and I find myself getting confused if there's not a clear plan to follow.

I consider myself medium to high functioning. I am treated as normal compared to my peers. They see me as shy and somewhat withdrawn, but that's mostly because I'm never completely comfortable in social situations because there's too much stuff going on for me to keep track of. People sometimes seek me out for advice and time to do things, but I've never been invited to a party, or asked to go out on a group activity. I guess I come across as a private person and people respect that privacy.

My biggest problem is reaching out for people and trying to form a meaningful relationship. Since I can't really tell what's going on in peoples heads, like what they think of me and such, I can either extend a hand and see if the other person wants to be friends (I did this alot when I was younger), or restrain my impulse and go off alone. I usually do the latter, because when I was still a kid, meaner people saw my social attempts as an excuse to take advantage of my naivete. I've been hurt alot of times because of this.

I'm so terribly lonely right now, but I feel like I can't do anything about it.

I think I'm in between. I can have a job yes but I feel I can't do much like have a professional job. You need school for that.


It's like asking if you're a high functioning NT or a low functioning NT.
There are NTs out there who can't have a job or take care of themselves.

You mean like when I find ways to get other people to drive me to out of town locations even though I can drive and normally drive everyday? Its just the driving out of town on unfamiliar roads or on busy highways that scares me.

Why is it people always seem to have a need for categories? Is that hard-wired in, too?

Aspergers is definitely a spectrum itself,as am live with several aspies who are on the low functioning aspergan end,the female aspie here was recently made a two to one [meaning she had to have two staff with her]-am a MF kanner autistic and usually only two to one when going on days out.
People who are low functioning aspergan tend to be more stereotypically autistic,but low/medium/high fuctioning ranges in aspergers is a bit different to the same in kanners autism-ie,there's a lot more stronger skill problems and traits in kanners-any moderate problems with self help skills,cognitive ability,awareness of environment and danger would mean the person cannot be diagnosed with aspergers' and should instead have been given a kanner or pddnos label.

So aspies are not like "LFA" or "MFA" as these refer to classic,rather-it's LF/MF/HF aspergers,aspies can be low functioning enough to require residential placement,have challenging behaviors,be unable to manage money,have complex needs...or they may be MF-need some support,but have their own place,or they may be HF-need little to no support,most likely to develop strongest coping skills.
Also-both auties and aspies can actually have splintered functioning skills-they might be LF or MF in some abilities and coping skills and HF in others-this is common.

am think aspies who are more obviously autistic, and lower functioning [ie,need a lot of support,especially with living-whether in res.home or own place],should be classed under kanners, as aspergers is defaultly stereotyped by groups who are supposed to help-as being very high functioning and mild,plus there aren't many services that cater for aspies.
for many aspies who need help,it seems to come when from the mental health team when the aspie has developed bad MH problems,most SS in UK now won't help people unless they have at least moderate-severe difficulties,and they often will not include aspergers as a rule.