How do you define high functioning?

Post Reply New Topic

I think the Vineland and the ABAS are used more when people are thought of as developmentally disabled, whereas GAF is used more for psych. Autism, overlapping both categories (we're both DD and we're within the domain of psychiatry), would involve all three depending on what was going on at that particular point in time.

That makes sense.

Thanks to both of you. This also makes sense to me. The Autism led to co-morbid conditions of anxiety and depression and may have played a part in autoimmune issues.

The only thing the psychiatrist could treat was anxiety and depression. A therapist was not very helpful with improving social skills that had broken down through burnout. This is the reason I probably got the GAF, instead of the other tests.

Therapy might have been helpful before burnout; preventing burnout might be the best course of therapy for those that try to mainstream with Autism.

I would guess that underdiagnosis for those in their 30's, and 40's and above is more prevalent than for younger people, considering the greater awareness of the condition in childhood, today, as compared to the distant past.

I don't think I would have ever gone for a diagnosis, if I didn't have severe issues with tactile sensitivity and found the association with Autism as a clue along with language delay. And, without the access to this information through the internet, I might not have ever connected the dots to go for a diagnosis.

Being able to live on my own without assistance, which I'm doing.

I always thought of my self as functioning poorly, but that was before I self-diagnosed. Now I see my life as a success, because I have a better idea of what I was actually up against. However, up until now I was always working with a net. My father was always there to give me moral and even financial support when I was up against it.

The real test begins now. My father is dead, my siblings dislike me and will do nothing to help if I go down. There is no one else. If I fail to manage on my own I have only the street to look forward to. It's unlikely in the extreme that I could get any kind of assistance, too 'high functioning'.

I am an NT (as far as I know lol but have never been assessed for ASD as far as I can remember) and am diagnosed with Social Anxiety, depression and Agoraphobia and there are probably people with HFA that function better than I do...

I am presently on Disability and am unable to work due to 'an inability to be able to cope with the social aspects of working and an inability to cope with sudden change'. Whilst I can do household chores (once I get around to doing them lol) I do have a support worker who helps with things like benefits, paperwork, and accompanying me to appointments etc.

I guess I would class high functioning as being able to cope with day to day stuff and maybe hold down regular employment of some kind.

Personally I have never lasted more than a few months at a job because of my social difficulties so have been without work for about 12 years now. I did return to work briefly a few years ago but only lasted about 3 weeks before I burst into tears in the middle of work, spent 2 hours crying locked in the ladies loo, came home and never went back again. I was working in a retail store and I just couldn't handle it.

I am waiting for CBT but as therapy and medication etc has failed me in the past, I'm not feeling all that hopeful. I will see if it helps though!

Anyone who is able to live independently, if their income allows it.

I consider myself very high functioning. Sure, I don't cook or clean the house, but I would be able to if I lived alone. Not only able, but maybe a little obsessed about it: I'm almost OCD when it comes to cleaning. But since I still live with my mother, I don't worry about it.
My greatest weakness is my lack of social skills. It's very hard for me to make friends and probably impossible to have a romantic relationship. I'm not only capable, but apparently meant to live alone. And even though I lack social skills, lately I've been doing great in job interviews. Out of 3 interviews last month, 2 are about to call me (probably this week) and the remaining one gave me no answer until now, even though the HR lady assured me I was the Messiah they were expecting for the job.

And yet, I still have fairly frequent episodes of depression. Fortunately, I barely show any signs of emotion to strangers. It seems there ARE some advantages to ASD, after all.

I don't know that I would have ever been able to live alone. I did for a short while and as I recall it was one step above being homeless. A very meager existence. I have been very fortunate to land in situations where other people filled the holes in my deficiencies.

I feel similarly to wavefreak58. I have so many issues that I have trouble with that living on my own seems to almost be a recipe for disaster.

It's always interested me... I know someone who's very similar to me in just about every important way, including having many of the same difficulties. Except... I get services through the state. She gets the same sort of help through her boyfriend. As in, she even has serious trouble crossing streets, and parking lots are death traps to her, etc. Guess which one of us gets called HFA and which one of us gets called LFA?

ZeroGravitas: I like the idea of 'robustness in life', as you describe it. I would add that giving help to sy with autism by giving advices, preparing him to cope better in the life by counseling (basically, teaching how to think, what to do in situations) might result in higher functioning in the long term without that buffer zone. This is a desire of me, as I don't know if I'll be able to live independently ever. I see my parents almost every weekend, no romantic relations (except for one ex), very sloppy and slow with my home (shambles is a good word), don't like cleaning and it took years to get my flat renovated, no financial problems involved.

Having some form of reliable communication.