Any High Functioning Autistic people here?

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Jediscraps
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26 Feb 2011, 12:34 am

anbuend~

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Oh also since people often ask me, I do in fact believe there are different types of autistic people. (My particular type seems rare among online autistic people but not so rare I haven't found others.) I just don't think that the usual category labels (AS/HFA/LFA/PDDNOS/etc.) work in order to describe them accurately at all. Unfortunately, these sorts of things don't lend themselves to easy lists of criteria.



pensieve~
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Anyway, I'm HFA and don't feel like I'm like those with AS. There are similarities but there are differences too.



I'm curious about the different types of autistic people.

There's this thread http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt111300.html , "AS with dominant Right Brain??".

A person named Callista wrote~
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Actually, there are right-brained autistics out there, especially those who are highly visual. They tend to be more likely to be classic autism than Asperger's, because if your brain is very specialized (i.e., autistic) and you don't learn speech easily, it tends to be specialized in the right brain (speech is in the left).


And then TPE2 says~
Quote:
Be careful to not mix two very different things:

- rigth/left brain in scientifical sense (where left brain is more verbal and right brain is more visual-spatial)


I'm not sure what visual-spatial is but I think I'd do best learning by hands and visually. I scored zero for auditory for some sort of short learning style quiz. Reading can be hard, and sometimes frustrating, for me too even though I love books and try to read. According to my mom I have mild dyslexia but counselor, who does learning disability screening (or something) doesn't think that's really the main problem I have with reading.

Donna Williams says this here (and also, in finding this reading for it on this page I do come across sentences/paragraphs I don't really understand, I just maybe get the idea of it, but I'm not even sure. I'm not explaining my reading problem all that well, it's that I'm starting to think most people understand what they read in a clearer way. I can't describe it. I felt like saying that. Writing this post is making me nervous.)



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DONNA WILLIAMS:

What you’re actually asking is whether

a) having Social Emotional Agnosia would reduce one’s ability to be aware of the System of Sensing – yes, I think so, in the same way that if one is born blind one may be unaware of the experience of color except by translating through a system that’s still intact.

and

b) developing highly level compensatory reliance on intellect over intuition/sensing would leave the ability to sense underdeveloped – yes, I think that will generally be so.
http://blog.donnawilliams.net/2010/10/04/2011/


It's the intuition part I can relate to but I can use my intellect too. I'm not perfectly sure what she means by "sensing".
I think I talked on time and there is some talking in my head. But I have a hard time putting my thoughts into words and I have been pretty close to mute in most situations through out my life. A lot of my life not talking in most situations. I was nervous and don't know what to say and partly because talking in depth is difficul in some ways, or tiring. I started talking more the last few years though. I've been told that my conversational style is simply being quiet and then maybe adding something here or there, maybe what I think is funny. and then being quiet and going off in my head or listening. There's some other stuff.
It's pretty frustrating sometimes not being able to say how I see the world and what could be changed to make it a whole lot better, into words as well as I "know" in my head (I'm not going to try here.)

The "right/left" has interested from these few things I've read.



cyberdad
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26 Feb 2011, 5:14 am

Jediscraps wrote:

There's this thread http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt111300.html
The "right/left" has interested from these few things I've read.

Just an observation but the second poster has stated, with some confidence, they have AS and "don't" have autism. I imagine it's going to take a while to educate some "aspies" about what they exactly are.

I've recently networked with an asperger who himself is planning to research developmental psychology of adolescents with aspergers here in Melbourne. When enquiring about his project proposal he explained he's only interested in "high end" aspergers not in what he called low end autism. I asked him why? He explained that research funding should be allocated toward asperger kids as they have potential to be geniuses like him (yes he's a little egotistic).

My hope is that this is not a sign of the future where despite DSM V a kind of caste system is developing within the ASD spectrum.



anbuend
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26 Feb 2011, 10:31 am

Verdandi wrote:
I've been looking for longer DSM-IV descriptions everywhere because they have details I'd like to know, but so far nothing.


http://sites.google.com/site/gavinbolla ... for-autism


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Zizu58
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01 Aug 2016, 9:21 am

I always thought that HFA's ( High functioning autistics ) were people on the spectrum who had all the normal spectrum traits but were able to function in normal society without everyone knowing they were Aspie / autistic .



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01 Aug 2016, 9:29 am

I wish this were true, but many people with HFA/Asperger's have at least some difficulties in life.

I'm able to function in life for the most part--but I have difficulties sometimes. I've screwed up royally at times.



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01 Aug 2016, 10:25 am

I was diagnosed with HFA last year, but I can't say I care much for the label; "autistic" seems more pertinent to me personally. As a consequence of being diagnosed with HFA, misinterpretations pertaining to my intellectual abilities regularly occur. I am certainly no genius, and I doubt that I am a man of even average intelligence. In actuality I consider myself to have moderate to severe learning difficulties, which greatly affects my life.


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01 Aug 2016, 1:16 pm

I was diagnosed with PDD-NOS when I was three and my diagnosis was later changed to HFA. I'm not sure how old I was, maybe 13 or 14. I'm not completely sure why my diagnosis was changed, but I don't really think about it too much.


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01 Aug 2016, 8:03 pm

It's been 5 years since I posted on this thread!

I still feel the label "high functioning" is a little cringeworthy reflecting some type of hierarchical judgment from an NT perspective

Why not call it functional autism simply saying the person is able to function in mainstram society?



Zizu58
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02 Aug 2016, 4:58 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
I wish this were true, but many people with HFA/Asperger's have at least some difficulties in life.

I'm able to function in life for the most part--but I have difficulties sometimes. I've screwed up royally at times.


Oh yeah , clearly they're still gonna have problems , terrible ones at that . I am THAT person but I'm able to mask most of my issues and difficulties and more or less blend in with everyone else .

Funny thing is I'm regarded as a laid- back , chilled out sort of guy and yet I'm the exact opposite but nobody knows ! !



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03 Aug 2016, 12:21 am

cyberdad wrote:
It's been 5 years since I posted on this thread!

I still feel the label "high functioning" is a little cringeworthy reflecting some type of hierarchical judgment from an NT perspective

Why not call it functional autism simply saying the person is able to function in mainstram society?


Why not just call it "autism" and give up on functioning labels entirely?

And then, when you want to talk about what an autistic person can and can't do, just actually talk about what they can and can't do or the supports they need in as much or as little detail as you want.

"Functional/non-functional" seems no less ambiguous than any other set of functioning labels, and I think it would come to reflect similar types of judgements.

My diagnosis was DSM-IV 299.00 ("Autistic Disorder" aka "classic autism") so I'm a non-aspie type of HFASDer.


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03 Aug 2016, 3:20 am

animalcrackers wrote:
cyberdad wrote:
It's been 5 years since I posted on this thread!

I still feel the label "high functioning" is a little cringeworthy reflecting some type of hierarchical judgment from an NT perspective

Why not call it functional autism simply saying the person is able to function in mainstram society?


Why not just call it "autism" and give up on functioning labels entirely?

And then, when you want to talk about what an autistic person can and can't do, just actually talk about what they can and can't do or the supports they need in as much or as little detail as you want.

"Functional/non-functional" seems no less ambiguous than any other set of functioning labels, and I think it would come to reflect similar types of judgements.

My diagnosis was DSM-IV 299.00 ("Autistic Disorder" aka "classic autism") so I'm a non-aspie type of HFASDer.


I think functional/nonfunctional is reasonable to know if the person is entering the school system or workforce



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03 Aug 2016, 3:27 am

cyberdad wrote:
animalcrackers wrote:
cyberdad wrote:
It's been 5 years since I posted on this thread!

I still feel the label "high functioning" is a little cringeworthy reflecting some type of hierarchical judgment from an NT perspective

Why not call it functional autism simply saying the person is able to function in mainstram society?


Why not just call it "autism" and give up on functioning labels entirely?

And then, when you want to talk about what an autistic person can and can't do, just actually talk about what they can and can't do or the supports they need in as much or as little detail as you want.

"Functional/non-functional" seems no less ambiguous than any other set of functioning labels, and I think it would come to reflect similar types of judgements.

My diagnosis was DSM-IV 299.00 ("Autistic Disorder" aka "classic autism") so I'm a non-aspie type of HFASDer.


I think functional/nonfunctional is reasonable to know if the person is entering the school system or workforce


I think it is much more helpful to actually talk about the specific things a person needs, for school or workplace accomodations or for helping a person to find a suitable curriculum/school placement or a suitable job/training program/employment support services. I don't think one or two word functioning levels are really useful because they are too broad and non-specific -- they encompass too many things.


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Last edited by animalcrackers on 03 Aug 2016, 3:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

cyberdad
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03 Aug 2016, 3:29 am

animalcrackers wrote:
cyberdad wrote:
animalcrackers wrote:
cyberdad wrote:
It's been 5 years since I posted on this thread!

I still feel the label "high functioning" is a little cringeworthy reflecting some type of hierarchical judgment from an NT perspective

Why not call it functional autism simply saying the person is able to function in mainstram society?


Why not just call it "autism" and give up on functioning labels entirely?

And then, when you want to talk about what an autistic person can and can't do, just actually talk about what they can and can't do or the supports they need in as much or as little detail as you want.

"Functional/non-functional" seems no less ambiguous than any other set of functioning labels, and I think it would come to reflect similar types of judgements.

My diagnosis was DSM-IV 299.00 ("Autistic Disorder" aka "classic autism") so I'm a non-aspie type of HFASDer.


I think functional/nonfunctional is reasonable to know if the person is entering the school system or workforce


I think it is much more helpful to actually talk about the specific things a person needs, for school or workplace accomodations. I don't think one or two word functioning levels are really useful because they are too broad and non-specific -- they encompass too many things.

it's a simple system that tells organisation (education or employer) whether the person needs funded assistance, further information can of course be added....



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03 Aug 2016, 3:50 am

cyberdad wrote:
animalcrackers wrote:
cyberdad wrote:
animalcrackers wrote:
cyberdad wrote:
It's been 5 years since I posted on this thread!

I still feel the label "high functioning" is a little cringeworthy reflecting some type of hierarchical judgment from an NT perspective

Why not call it functional autism simply saying the person is able to function in mainstram society?


Why not just call it "autism" and give up on functioning labels entirely?

And then, when you want to talk about what an autistic person can and can't do, just actually talk about what they can and can't do or the supports they need in as much or as little detail as you want.

"Functional/non-functional" seems no less ambiguous than any other set of functioning labels, and I think it would come to reflect similar types of judgements.

My diagnosis was DSM-IV 299.00 ("Autistic Disorder" aka "classic autism") so I'm a non-aspie type of HFASDer.


I think functional/nonfunctional is reasonable to know if the person is entering the school system or workforce


I think it is much more helpful to actually talk about the specific things a person needs, for school or workplace accomodations. I don't think one or two word functioning levels are really useful because they are too broad and non-specific -- they encompass too many things.

it's a simple system that tells organisation (education or employer) whether the person needs funded assistance, further information can of course be added....


I still don't really see the benefit to having functioning labels -- because if the autistic person didn't need assistance or accomodations, then wouldn't they just not tell the institution or organization about their/their child's diagnosis.....or just not request any assistance or accomodations, if for some reason they wanted to share the diagnosis despite not needing any help?

I still don't see how the functioning label makes anything easier for anyone, but maybe that's just because I'm not understanding what you're talking about. Is "funded assistance" a specific thing -- like a government funding source/program only available to autistic people (or developmentally disabled people generally, or disabled people generally) with a specific range of IQ scores and/or specific adaptive functioning deficits or some other specific impairment(s)?


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animalcrackers
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03 Aug 2016, 11:58 am

If "funded assistance" is something specific, couldn't/wouldn't they just ask a question during an intake or interview or on application/enrollment forms that is something like, "Do you/your child receive funded assistance?" Or couldn't a person just say that they/their child was eligible for/required/received funded assistance?

Or if there has to be some assessment to determine eligibility for funded assistance based on looking for/proving need based on specific abilities and impairments, then how does adding a hugely generic and broad functioning label onto the autism diagnosis change that process?

I just don't get how it's more useful than just saying "autism" and then adding whatever person-specific qualifiers or details are necessary or desired based on the context.


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03 Aug 2016, 8:35 pm

animalcrackers wrote:
If "funded assistance" is something specific, couldn't/wouldn't they just ask a question during an intake or interview or on application/enrollment forms that is something like, "Do you/your child receive funded assistance?" Or couldn't a person just say that they/their child was eligible for/required/received funded assistance?

Or if there has to be some assessment to determine eligibility for funded assistance based on looking for/proving need based on specific abilities and impairments, then how does adding a hugely generic and broad functioning label onto the autism diagnosis change that process?

I just don't get how it's more useful than just saying "autism" and then adding whatever person-specific qualifiers or details are necessary or desired based on the context.


In Australia children in the education system can be referred for assessment to receive financial support for integration aides, this requires a basic criteria which is "can the child function satisfactorily in the clasrooom"? Y/N

If no then then they are assessed further to ascertain how much support they need?