Do you have problems figuring out "high functioning"?

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http://autism.about.com/od/aspergerssyn ... enging.htm

That page seems typical of the approach I see a lot in those sorts of pages: they just don't address the issue:


But high functioning does mean what it says to btbnnyr: IQ>70. That's what it means to researchers and clinicians. But when they get to talking to autistic people and their families, they don't say this. I think it's somehow a taboo subject. It makes them uncomfortable so they avoid precision.

The issue is mostly that people make up their own definitions of HFA.
If a lot of people do that, and each person's definition is different, then the term will definitely be vague.
However, the term where it is most commonly used in research is not vague.
The application in research is that brain studies mostly use HFA IQ > 70 participants to avoid the conflating effects of ID, of which there are many.

Yes the way autism is described seems very confused to me also. I’ve heard the following descriptors for one child:
classic autism, kanner autism, low-functioning autism, severe autism, profound autism
Do they all mean the same thing? I don’t know. Why are there so many names for it? I don’t know! And honestly, I think the answers to those questions depends entirely on who you ask. I think it's the same for high-functioning. Then what the heck is "moderate functioning" or whatever??? It would be nice if people could get on the same page about how we are describing autism and have clear definitions, but I think before that can happen, we need to have a better understanding of what autism actually *is*. Autism seems to be too complicated to be defined so narrowly yet. I’ve heard the definition of low-functioning autism being IQ below 70 before (70 is selected because below 70 is also the criteria for intellectual disability). But I think that definition assumes that IQ tests are an accurate measurement of intelligence in profoundly autistic people, which is a very false assumption, in my opinion, so that doesn’t seem like a very good definition to me. My kids have never had their IQs tested, and yet they’ve been assigned functioning levels. Maybe the diagnostic person just guessed their IQs…I don’t know. They have had a lot of testing, I just opted out of IQ tests (due to my lack of interest in hearing my child has an IQ of 20 ).

"Moderate functioning" could be IQ a bit above theshold for "low functioning" or "high functioning" with more severe autistic symptoms I guess.
Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay is an example of being assesed as "low functioning", but his IQ is said to be 186.
Per IQ definition he is "high functioning", but his severity of autistic symptoms make him "low functioning" the way I understand it.

This topic always seems to make a re-appearance on WP.

There seems to be two versions of HFA. The first is the dry academic version which relies on IQ thresholds, level of communication impairment and level of repetitious behavior. A geek with a lab coat has a little checklist and ticks off boxes to come up with a profile.

The second version is one based on perception and the one (I suspect) the majority of folks on WP use to gauge how well they fit this "label". Basically HF = how well do you blend into NT society?
Level 1 - very HF = I blend in, am married, hold a permanent job have friends and social life
Level 2 - HFA = I blend in and find employment but cant hold a job for long, find it difficult to make friends/get a date
Level 3 - Moderate - HF = I can blend in but have issues that mean I don't have friends or can hold a job
Level 4 - Moderate = I can blend in sometimes but need assistance to integrate

Or something like this...

I think somebody told me that the differences with high(er) functioning Autism and low(er) functioning lies with if the person is able to take care of him/her self with little to no support meaning daily living skills able to cook for one's self wash his or her clothes do daily house chores able to drive or take the bus etc. Where as to be considered "low(er) function one would need more supports for daily living possibly dependent on having somebody care for the individual. there's also the "stereo-typical movement" (hand flapping rocking spinning etc) that is common in more "low(er) functioning individual where as it is not always apparent in the higher functioning individuals. then of course there's the ID factor

We should probably expand on this from level 1 very HF to maybe level 10 very low functioning with possible ID issues

Yes, I see you your point.

Perhaps levels 1-10 where;
Levels 1-3 = Doesn't need assistance to live independently
Levels 4-5 = Does need assistance sometimes
Levels 6-7 = Needs assistance most of the time
Levels 8-10 = Needs assistance all the time

I think the IQ theory is a load of codswallop. IQ testing is class and culturally specific, and is generally being questioned as whether it has any relevance to all to anything.

HFASD is also a misleading term as it stresses on the 'high functioning' and doesn't look at all at the fact that while we may be able to go to the shop and buy a roll of date roll, we also have spent half an hour looking at the different brands and types, stressing out at the overstimulation in the supermarket, stressing at the interaction with strangers, etc etc etc.

What I mean is that there is a great deal where we do not function at all.

People say well you survived in the world for 40 years, you must be OK - what choice do you have? You survive or die, you just do the best you can. You learn that no work = no money, no money = no roof or food; it easier to shut up an do whatever work you can get.

Yeah maybe IQ 70-100 would be "moderate autism". It doesn't make sense to define it that way to me though. I think the new DSM is on the right track but it still doesn't work completely.

Even if you can 'survive' the things that you cannot do can seriously impair your quality of life.
You are also going to get your share of the kind of problems everyone has to face. But quite likely without the informal support networks other people tend to have.
So "best you can" comes with a high level of chronic stress.

Exactly. No one understands the amount of energy and effort that I have to put in to put up the "normal" appearance. I was given no accommodation whatsoever growing up. I had no choice and wasn't given any option but to do, achieve, etc. even to the point of obsession, panic attacks, and finally, physical health issues.

I am painfully aware of my deficits and have had to work hard to overcome them and to mitigate the effects. The older I get the more I try to live intentionally and simply (cutting out the unnecessary and toxic stuff) but it's no easy task. My filters don't work like everyone else's, and I overload very easily.

Basically I have to work twice as hard to prove I'm half as good.

Thanks for the responses, everybody!

Do you mean like what autism is inside the brain -- like mechanics/what happens to cause certain symptoms? Or like clarifying what does and doesn't count as an autism symptom vs. something else -- taxonomy/nosology? (Or both, or something else?) In any case, that makes sense; You can't create a standardized measure unless everybody is measuring the same thing.

.............

I don't have a problem with understanding the IQ definition of "high/low functioning" unless I try to expand it beyond just IQ test scores, at which point it becomes harder to attach meaning to and also becomes confusing. (Confusing because: If you're using functioning levels to refer to the autism and saying that intellectual disability/performance on IQ tests is distinct from autism, then shouldn't functioning level groups for autism be divided up based on the severity of autism symptoms rather than IQ scores? Or, if the functioning level is meant to refer to the person and reflect the total level of disability/ability experienced, then shouldn't IQ score/presence vs. absence of intellectual disability be just one of many variables used to define the categories?).

My definitional of HFA is me. IQ 169 but have no idea how humans operate..no understanding of body language yet I can drive a space ship.. and find it difficult (impossible) to talk small talk or communicate with humans.. or what you call NTs... I only write this as just landed on earth for cider to break down neuro networks to speak English.. strange but humans NTs are weird...

High functioning simply refers to an IQ over 70, meaning that they likely can function independently. Low functioning refer to an IQ below 70, when means that these people are not likely to function independently. With independent functioning, I mean to take care of oneself. For example, I would count as very high functioning and I have proven that I can live independently and do anything when alone. However I still suck badly at social interaction and am prone to social situation based anxiety.