what does very high functioning mean to you?

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I can very much pass for NT. Undiagnosed until last year at 37, learned many coping skills. Have some of the typical AS issues but most can be covered up and I have learned to just avoid plenty of stuff tbh.

About the topic though:
I personally think that it can be a useable term to describe someone at glance, but i don't think it really offers much help in understanding the individual.
It might be important for someone to know what to expect of me if i for example have violent meltdowns and can't speak or if i need very strict routines.

I wouldn't say I'm opposed to using the term (many on tumblr and other social media sites are, sometimes) but i don't think it offers much value, especially if you are able to describe the needs more accurately.

I agree with SaveFerris's view: To me, very high functioning means having the ability to get through life (i.e. caring for oneself, working, building relationships, raising a family) without supports AND without anyone recognizing that you have autism - or something (i.e. your autism or coping ability is at a level that is barely detectable by close family members or professionals).

High functioning means having the ability to get through life with supports OR with someone recognizing that you have autism.

I prefer the Social Thinking-­Social Communication Profile. I am a Weak Emerging Social Communicator.

_________________
31st of July, 2013
Diagnosed: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Auditory-Verbal Processing Speed Disorder, and Visual-Motor Processing Speed Disorder.

Weak Emerging Social Communicator (The Social Thinking-­Social Communication Profile by Michelle Garcia Winner, Pamela Crooke and Stephanie Madrigal)

"I am silently correcting your grammar."

For me its kind of complicated. I suppose I'm on the higher end of level 2 autism but for the past 3 years or so I've been more of a level 1, probably because I just haven't had to deal with school as much but I think I'm moving back to level 2.

When I was going to public school I had special ed classes most days and I had an aid to sit next to me in some of my classes to help dictate work, get assistance, keep track of assignments, move me to another room, etc. I didn't really speak to anyone outside of a very small group until about 8th or 9th grade. Was very prone to meltdowns though they have been getting less frequent, I think I've been suppressing them. I am very sensitive to noise and light and cannot be in a crowded room or I will begin to cry. I have begun to stim very openly where in the past its mostly been shaking my knees and pacing.

So I think that while most people would consider me to be "high functioning" that's because they don't see me in situations where my lower functioning attributes begin to show.

I'm trying not to use functioning labels anymore to compare people and I can't really speak for any other person's functioning level. I just know that I have a college degree, am working full time, can support myself, have meaningful friendships, published a book, and have potential for romantic relationships, and that's good enough for me.

I consider myself high-functioning as I wasn't diagnosed until much later in life. I think it's just a functional label used to flag whether or not someone needs special accommodations and support in school or work.

The issue I have with being "high functioning" is when it crosses over from being a category for determining an individual's entitlement to services to becoming a description for an individual's experience of autism. Just because their autism isn't as noticeable, they don't require additional supports, or are able to function independently, doesn't mean they don't also have meltdowns or struggle or experience some of the same frustrations or struggles.

Anxiety can sometimes cripple me, but I still am high-functioning. As a baby I developed all my milestones at the average stages and went to mainstream school, and was never non-verbal. As an adult I can communicate well, recognise and express my emotions well, do things for myself, and know how to pass off as an NT. I suppose all this makes me high-functioning.

High-functioning doesn't mean ALL of your symptoms are mild, but I believe high-functioning Aspies/autistics are more mildly affected except for maybe one or two ASD traits that can make things challenging but otherwise the person is able to take part in normal society, like work (even just part-time), have successful relationships, get married, drive and have children. Usually high-functioning Aspies learn social skills earlier than their lower-functioning counterparts, or are more willing to learn social skills as children, and may prefer to have friends than to work on their special interests.
More severely affected autistics may be more delayed in this, even as adults, and some may require care for the rest of their lives. Some low-functioning autistics are completely non-verbal, have no self-awareness, need a carer with them all the time, and stim intensely and moan or grunt loudly as their only form of communication.
So ASD affects us all differently, but some of us are lower-functioning than others. I don't think there is a 'checklist' as such for what is low-functioning and what is high-functioning in an autistic. It just depends on how capable and independant the individual is and what symptoms affect them the most and how many affect them more, etc.

I don't feel intelligence comes into it though. I know a young man who was diagnosed with moderate autism at 3 years of age, and lacks more social skills than me, but he is very intelligent. And I know a girl with learning difficulties plus she's socially challenged and doesn't like routine change or loud noises, but was still diagnosed with Asperger's.

I see functioning levels as a full spectrum personally, I don't know how I come off to people, but there are times or days where I can function all right, and others where I can't do anything. I just found out today that I can finally get an assessment, so I'll find out what I have. My fear with the labels is what it implies. For instance if I get a diagnosis of really high functioning autism or no autism at all, I feel like stimming is something I won't be able to do anymore, and it is literally the only thing that helps. It's like the right to feel what I feel will be invalidated. Which will be a problem because I don't know how to stop. I personally can't hold a job right now, but I hide it really well for 20 minute periods in public, I think I just look odd. So it is weird to me that I hope I get a diagnosis that is higher, so I might be able to get treatment. And that is the purpose of labels, treatment. But they box you too. Ever since I have been thinking about autism, I look at things I do, and think is this why I am doing this, and while it helps evaluate stress levels, its like your identity gets linked into it. and that identity is defined by a preset perspective of a lot of people who don't even have ASD. And I have gotten my hopes up really high that I do have it, because then I would feel normal, but its like the level of diagnosis determines how much freedom I have to do what I feel I need to do. I am sorry for rambling, I can't get this out of my head, I have been thinking about it all day. And this forum kind of addressed it.

The problem is there is no definite line between what is considered high vs low functioning. It's completely arbitrary. The same goes for "levels" of autism, there's no solid criteria. And of course for autistics it's even more important for things to be clear and un-arbitrary.

Thank you for mentioning this, I hadn't thought about that, but it does really bother me that there isn't a cut and dry, autism no autism. I am taking a political science course right now, and it is not cut and dry either, and that really bothers me about it. I didn't even think that could be why. I had heard of that symptom I just didn't make the connection.

when I hear "high functioning" I think people like dan ackroyd, bill gates, daryl Hannah and the like. the beautiful people and smart people who lived relatively charmed lives but have "character" or are considered "eccentric." btw, #1 and #3 are dx'ed on the spectrum, while everybody and their brother considers #2 to be on the spectrum.

As somebody with high-functioning Autism and Asperger's Syndrome I guess the best thing I can do is to list the pros and cons of my life now but as we all know, Autism is a spectrum, so these may not apply to you all - some will, some won't.

Please note that even the pros do not seem like real pros - only half as much. We are still talking about Autism here.

Pros:
- I can live on my own - barely
- I can mask my stimming - for only short periods of time
- I have overcome some social awkwardness, only after 42 years of practice, but many social situations still elude me
- I have a measured IQ of 150
- My memory capacity is considered exceptional and autobiographical
- I have no problem finding a job and holding it for short periods of time but eventually my social limitations get me fired or I quit
- I can pass for NT but eventually people will catch on that I'm mentally disabled
- I can drive a car but if too many cars are around me I eventually become unglued so have to keep car rides short

Cons:
- My meltdowns can be very loud and extreme which is why I've lived in so many different places from being evicted
- My entire adult life I have lived below the poverty line and can barely support myself
- Like many non-verbal Autistics, I am still in diapers and this is both a mechanical and anxietal problem
- I can't always suppress my stimming and many people have seen me in public and at work which causes problems
- Along with Asperger's, I have OCD, ADHD, GAD and PTSD
- My therapist lists my anxiety current status as "inconceivable" - like most Autistics, I'm highly anxious
- Generally speaking, higher intelligence means greater anxiety due to increased awareness, the term "ignorance is bliss" is an absolute truth

So, just because I'm high functioning does not mean I am better off than any other ASD. I am simply a different type and have just as many problems with varying degrees of course. Please do not interpret this as something that I'm proud of or think that I'm better than any other ASD because I am not.

All of us who are on the Spectrum may be low functioning or high functioning but that does not mean better or worse.

Make no mistake about it - my Autistic life has been one excruciating experience after another but I'm glad I've made it to 42 years of age to live to tell about it.

_________________
*** High Functioning Autism - Asperger's Syndrome ***

ADHD, OCD, and PTSD.

Keep calm and stim away.

To me it means ability to act normal all the time and not get burned out or exhausted and you have no problems following the rules after learning them. You only show symptoms when you are stressed out and anxious or having a bad day or very upset, etc. This is me so I am the true profile of very high functioning.

Also very high functioning people can make it through NT things like jobs that require social skills and flexibility and the ability to transition and get along with people and work with them. If an autistic person has such a job I assume they must be very high functioning or otherwise they wouldn't have made it in that field and that is if they have managed to stay at the same place for many years.

I can "pass" for an eccentric non-autistic person---but I can NEVER pass for "normal." Part of it is my fault; I don't really try too hard NOT to be eccentric and odd. I howl and meow on the subways, for example.

I have a job, car, wife.....and have had these for a long time. But I've made mistakes in my life, most of them of a financial nature. I am in debt. I am barely "above water."

I'm not very good at extended cleaning; I can only "straighten up." I'm not good in most things "domestic."

My table manners are pretty bad. My "social grace" rating is pretty low---especially when it's something that requires physical dexterity. I do okay in superficial social interactions, usually. I might come across as being overly "charming" at times.

I also make many "social" mistakes. I compensate by coming across as a sort of clown or court jester.

I guess I'm somewhere between "high-functioning" and "very high-functioning." I was a classic/Kanner autistic person as a very young child. Then became Asperger's like later in life.

Eccentric people are "normal" so therefore you are passing as normal if you pass as eccentric.