“High functioning”

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I understand where you are coming from now. Thank you for explaining. Those were old terms but I do understand. We are just speaking using different terms. But I believe we agree on the concept.

Oh, I understand now. Thank you again for explaining.

You are welcome.

Actually pre-2013 HFA pertained to those with autism who had an IQ < 70 and had a speech delay but who were not low functioning (needing a carer like Pepe said) and were independent showing some capability. Search HFA in youtube for children pre-2013 and you'll see HFA is associated with children who are non-verbal but have good comprehension and are hyperlexic and/or numerate.

IQ > 70 and normal speech mean't a clinical diagnosis of Aspergers.

So my daughter was HFA when she was diagnosed with autism (largely because she was too distracted to finish an IQ test) but under DSMV she would be moderately functional according to a professional diagnosis.

I remember reading about that and how it can depend on the parents passing it down + mutations.
Wow. I acquired that bit of information so long ago I first forgot I knew it.

We get threads like this arguing that there is no such thing as functioning labels or severity and all that, but then in other threads of any subject functioning labels and levels of severity are widely used naturally and nobody bats an eye. So there is some value to using functioning labels and severity levels.

Like "...my mother is high-functioning so has always managed to mask her symptoms better..." or, "...my son is severely autistic and is locked in his own world..."

Yes it's very subjective.

I have a mischievous thought this morning.

What might be High Functioning and Low Functioning Neurotypicality.

Would we base it on something like an IQ test, or would it be more useful to measure it by how well people can manage their neurotically traits.

For example, in the area of Delusions of Mind (a feature of people on the neurotypical spectrum which involves and inability to see what is actually there and a compulsion to ascribe metal states to objects, other people and so forth), would "High Functioning" be a person with Neurotypucality who is aware of the tendency and takes care to avoid getting into Drama about other people and situations, as opposed to Low Functioning where the person with neurotypicality becomes trapped in always immagining motives for other people's actions, fails to understand communication properly because they think the words have every possible meaning other than what the words mean.

And more compassionately, is there anything which can be done to help the low functioning NT people to have happier and less drama in their lives

Functioning doesn't always dovetail neatly with intelligence. https://www.spectrumnews.org/opinion/vi ... ic-adults/

I'm the member of several high IQ societies, based on verbal intelligence, but when it comes to practical, daily living, tasks I'm not good at all. It took moving and a non book learned ,but very perceptive, stepdaughter for that to be realised. Certainly the mental health services in Essex never considered the possibility I might be struggling a bit. That's what happens when you have an underfunded service coupled with quite a high degree of professional myopia.The result? The middle aged person, who is non acute, is put at the back of the queue when support is being handed out. A person at 100% functioning/wellness 75% of the time and 20% the rest of the time is prioritised over someone who's at a consistent 35% level of functioning/wellness.

Edit-word change.

Last edited by firemonkey on 07 Nov 2020, 6:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

I don't think there is such a thing as low/high-functioning neurotypicality because it isn't exactly a diagnosable disability like autism and all the other mental/neurological disorders out there. It's just the standard brain wiring. Neurotypicals can be lower functioning if they suffer from a nervous breakdown or something like that, but that doesn't conclude as "low-functioning neurotypicality", it just proves "low-functioning mental breakdown".

Maybe you could say completely well-adjusted neurotypicals are those with no depression, anxiety or anything like that (common disorders among people that are too common to be considered not neurotypical) are the most high-functioning neurotypicals. But it's best we don't get too bogged down with all that, as we could go on forever.

That is only the case because NTs dictate social standards because of their numerical dominance.
From what I can see, NTs are very dysfunctional, in areas.
They just get a free pass because of neurological partisanship.



Studies have shown that NTs are overwhelmingly influenced by emotionalism when making decisions.
I see this as humorous, but very dysfunctional.
In an Autie dominated society, this would be considered a social and personal dysfunction.
There are articles on the web which highlight this.

I am using “more” in a literal descriptive way not in a judgmental or exclusionary way.

Relating this to functioning labels “severe” and “functioning” are not synonymous “severe” and “more” are synonymous in a lot of contexts.

One can be 6’4” tall or one can be 7’. Either way one is tall but if you are 7’ you are taller(more tall). Like autism your height is part of who you are. The difference is unlike height(generally) unfortunately “more” in an autism context is often used in an ableist way. “Less” autistic does not make you a lesser person.

“More” does not preclude a rainbow or a spectrum. When you have met one tall person you have met one tall person.

Very interesting. I like your thought process.

I totally agree. I tested very average in a general IQ test, 104, but there are many times when I cannot function at all in many different areas. My functioning levels have nothing to do with intelligence. They have to do with what my brain is having to process at any given moment. So my levels of functioning can be so varied at any given moment and go from needing to have the most levels of support to me not needing any support. That is why I tested at a level three in my Autism diagnosis. Four out of six categories on the diagnostic chart, I tested severity levels off the charts. But the other two I tested less severe. The biggest problem with me is that the two areas in which I tested less severe are the areas that people can readily see like social interaction. So people have no idea how severe I really am and they assume I am always high functioning. But that is definitely not the case. That is why these general two, one size fits all functioning labels are so detrimental. I can't get the help and services I need because my social interaction skills are less severe even though I am off the chart severe in four out of six areas. Where a person who shows more severe in the areas that are visually easily visible to other people but who might have scored much less severe in the areas that I scored off the charts in, will qualify for every kind of help and service out there.

I am going to create a DSM criteria for neurotypicality!

First, neurotypical is not a diagnosis for a disorder. It is simply a statistical reference to typical behavior. You cannot have variation in a mean. Disorders are the variation from that mean. A low-functioning NT cannot exist as it is an oxymoron.