You tell me

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So, writing is my thing, and I think I'm decent at it (at least, I'm told I am). I write a blog, have a Facebook page for my blog, Twitter account for it, have written a book... you get the idea. I frequently make references in my writing to things such as, "I'm not that high functioning," and people's response is almost invariably, "But you write so well... you must be!" So, I turned my webcam on while I was doing my internet thing tonight.

http://s1099.photobucket.com/albums/g38 ... ticspeaks/

Somehow, I don't think this is what people expect from me, but this is me. No, I'm not "LFA" or "locked inside" or "a mystery" or "a puzzle" or "in need of a cure." I'm me, and I'm happy this way.

You have a very interestingly patterned ceiling. Wait, what was the question?

You look very real to me, and that is what it is all about!

Based on what I see in the video, I would not be able to make much prediction at all about your abilities. Your posts here are far more informative - you've described a variety of things that you can and cannot do. (Do some people discount what you say about your range of abilities in your posts?)

I think people are prejudiced about how you communicate must reflect some deep inner truth. Fluent internet communication makes people think that everything else is on the same level. When I run up against this it makes me really really frustrated, because I feel like what I'm trying to say is being trivialized for the sake of someone else's comfort. Or maybe they think they're being comforting or reassuring, but when they do that it feels insincere and false to me.

I can't ascertain anything from the video - I mean, I do some of the same stuff at the computer too, and I know that we do not have the same abilities - but I do believe you when you talk about what you can and cannot do.

OK, you ROCK a little. You reacted to some stuff. I got the idea that you were NOT LF! As for high functioning, I might guess a 70% chance that you were. But everyone else is right, there is NOT enough to say how high functioning you are. Obviously, your WRITING says you aren't low functioning, and I would guess maybe 90%+ that you WERE high functioning.

For the rocking, that is NOT why people view autistics as odd. It is the empty seemingly mindless rocking that they see. I didn't see that in that video.

A person's writing ability is absolutely no indication as to his or her functioning level! In fact, I'd say that no one trait is solely directly proportional to degree of autism or level of functioning. A person can be high functioning and nonverbal, low functioning and live alone, or any one of a million unexpected combinations. For this reason, I am not a fan of functioning labels, because they simply don't work. I drive, but I am frequently nonverbal. I live alone, but I need staff to go anywhere. I write well, but sometimes I can't speak. So, what am I? You could combine a host of stereotypically HFA traits and a few stereotypically LFA traits and call me MFA, but I don't think that's fair, useful, or descriptive.

The issues that affect your functioning are obviously not related to your intelligence or written skills. People are under this umbrella assumption that just because you are strong in one or a few areas that you are at a certain level. It is not possible to determine a 'functioning level' or a dx from some posts on the internet.

And, honestly, other people's mistaken perceptions based on a handful of factors really have no bearing on you, your dx or your functioning level. If anything, it is a testament to the fact that the perceptions of autism are kinds of wrong. It's an opportunity to teach and educate - if you are of the mind to. I think most people would be hard pressed to believe that someone non-verbal, with heavy stimming and sensory issues could be highly articulate in written language. That flies in the face of the stereotypes.

Your video may not be the best example to display your functioning level in these parts. A little bit of stimming isn't really going to surprise anyone around here.

I'm not crazy about the way that autistic people are put in boxes according to how well they think that different people on the spectrum function. I'm more open about my special interests than most people are about theirs. Does that make me lower functioning? Maybe in somebody elses books, but not mine. I can't tell how other members function just by reading their posts.