How severe is your AS form?

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I straddle the line between "mild" and "moderate."

My GAF score is 65:

"70-61: Some mild symptoms OR some difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning, but generally functioning pretty well, has some meaningful interpersonal relationships."

I didn't get a level of functioning or a severity level with my diagnosis. I just got a diagnosis of Asperger's Disorder in grade eight. As a child I'd have probably been moderate to severe but now I'd probably be mild to moderate. My psych is going to assess me with the new criteria when it comes out (because I asked her to) and she thinks I'll probably meet criteria for ASD level 1 which is the most mild.

I voted mild. I am very high functioning but have a lot of traits. However I cannot read nonverbal cues beyond the extremely obvious, live with my parents, brain starts to shut off after 30 minutes in a store so i cant do grocery shopping, social anxiety, depression(in remission), have problems making appointments, hotel reservations, calling for information, awkward mingling in crowds, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sound, brain shuts down due to sensory overload, have a few friends because I know some very nice quirky people but still don't have close friendships, freak out about "little things", poor time management, not great at prioritizing, can't switch between activities easily, clumsy, difficulty in group conversation, told stay on one topic too long, can't filter background noise... Probably more can be added to this list

I do very well at work, but my job is very "aspie friendly" I do computer programming in an office in which I control the sensory environment( it is very quiet and I use lamps instead of the overhead fluorescents. I am good at problem solving with the computer. However, during my evaluation I was told I need to improve in organization, communication, involvement in company functions.

Mostly I have mild symptoms but if I'm having a bad day, I tend to let my guard down, and my symptoms get worse. As a child I was much, much worse.

I relate to this. My sensory issues prevent me from coping with normal life, apart from anything else.

I think this is kind of an oversimplification sure, but in any case I chose severe because that is how I view the affect it has had on my life and still does.
Whether that would be objectively true or not, I have no idea.
I am not mild however, I would not say that at all.

I relate to another poster that says it depends on what day he has. Some days socially, I'm flying.
Then other days, I get treated badly, or I ''don't get it'', or I miss the mark, and it knocks me right back.

I suppose Autism is changeable because sensitivity to the environment means the good or the bad can be brought out either more or less.

My bilateral co-ordinatiion is dreadful, I hate it. THAT makes me feel like a cripple.

Cf

Hi was diagnosed as high functioning autistic, i don't remember exactly what the papers said but in all total criteria the doctors considered me about 75% autistic while my parents considered me about 85%.

Sometime I often question it. Sometimes I feel like I'm more sever then typical highfuctioning while other times I wonder if I have it at all and just suffering something else that's silly.

LOL, I like this last line. I relate to it as well.

Somehow, I think having something like autism that fluctuates and is a hidden disability, does this to one.




Cf

I don't know what the Dx report said however compaired to meny I have read on this forum I am more towards the moderate-severe end, depresion and anxiety issues has greatly compounded my AS since grade school, coping methods in social enviroments for me usually includes shuting down and not talking or hiding for example, Reading Eloa's list of inabillites for example I could sort of do most of them in my opinion however in an evaluation judged my others I would likely fail to reach a resonable standard, the story of my life. Like actually I can drive however having me drive in another city is usually not a great idea. My sensory issues are towards the severe end of AS, I got all the dyspraxia parts pretty strong aswell eventhough they had an early intervention with a decent outcome, learning disabled aswell. My AS can't be masked over no matter how hard I try. Whth that said I have read people with far more severe AS then I have and when comaired to the people I know with classic LFA or something like that i'm doing really good of course, darn near NT. Its hard to tell on an internet fourm as people may be holding back infomation. I just always feel like i'm always on the edge of abillity and inabillity making my severity level appear to change alot.

Last edited by rapidroy on 03 May 2013, 7:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

<--- Mild, but I think it's my AvPD that makes my social interactions, or lack of it, severe.

I have no clue, but I function independently pretty well. I don't have severe meltdowns, but I have a lot of processing/sensory issues. I don't think I'd ever be able to "pass" as normal, but most people aren't familiar enough with autistic traits to recognize them.

I voted "medium" because my last diagnosis was "moderate Asperger's".
When I was a child they didn't tell if it was severe, moderate or mild, but at first they thought I could have schizophrenia, then they didn't exactly know whether to diagnose me with HFA or AS. I was diagnosed with Asperger's in the end because I didn't have speech delay.
Then I go re-diagnosed after some years and they put it as "moderate AS". I think this is because my schizophrenic-like symptoms have reduced as I grew up (that's lucky, I heard that most of the times they tend to get worse).
I think that some symptoms are worsened by ADHD.

Run-of-the-mill AS. Well, no one bothered to point out the severity of such to me other than saying I wasn't severe enough to have autism. This is at Attwood's.