What is high functioning?

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So after sitting through several Aspergers parents meetings with my mom. It got me wondering what exactly is the definition of high functioning? In the practical sense, how much can you do for yourself to be considered high functioning. Because the way the parents described it, some of the kids did not really seem high functioning?

High-functioning autism (HFA) is an informal term applied to autistic people who are deemed to be "higher functioning" than other autistic people, by one or more metrics.[1] There is no consensus as to the definition.[1] HFA is not yet a recognised diagnosis in the DSM-IV-TR or the ICD-10.

The amount of overlap between HFA and Asperger syndrome is disputed.[1] Some researchers argue that the two are distinct diagnostic entities, others argue that they are indistinguishable


Asperger syndrome, also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger disorder, is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development. Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and atypical use of language are frequently reported.[1][2]

Asperger syndrome is named after the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger who, in 1944, studied and described children in his practice who lacked nonverbal communication skills, demonstrated limited empathy with their peers, and were physically clumsy.[3] Fifty years later, it was standardized as a diagnosis, but many questions remain about aspects of the disorder.[4] For example, there is doubt about whether it is distinct from high-functioning autism (HFA);[5] partly because of this, its prevalence is not firmly established.[1] It has been proposed that the diagnosis of Asperger's be eliminated, to be replaced by a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder on a severity scale.[6]

The exact cause is unknown, although research supports the likelihood of a genetic basis; brain imaging techniques have not identified a clear common pathology.[1] There is no single treatment, and the effectiveness of particular interventions is supported by only limited data.[1] Intervention is aimed at improving symptoms and function. The mainstay of management is behavioral therapy, focusing on specific deficits to address poor communication skills, obsessive or repetitive routines, and physical clumsiness.[7] Most children improve as they mature to adulthood, but social and communication difficulties may persist.[4] Some researchers and people with Asperger's have advocated a shift in attitudes toward the view that it is a difference, rather than a disability that must be treated or cured


I don't if this helps at all but do some research.

High-functioning means "the doctor didn't think you looked really autistic". Other than that... nothing. It's pretty much meaningless.

If you want to talk about functioning levels, it's best to use specific terms, like, "I live independently," or, "I can communicate effectively." High, low, medium--those are just so fuzzy and there are no official definitions, so it's probably best to ignore them.

There is a key difference between the above two posts, one is a genuine thought out response that may well help someone out. The other is a copypasta article. Remember kids, friends don't let friends copypasta.

That aside, high functioning does basically mean that you have autism but you're good at managing it e.g. can interact comparably similar to others. Or you don't present many of the more debilitating symptoms.

I think that the traditional meaning of "high functioning" is "without mental retardation" (or, in a more strict criteria "can speak grammatically and without mental retardation").

However, since the term begin to be used by the general public (instead of only by researchers) it acquired a more diffuse meaning, something like "mild autism".

Too diffuse, IMO. It can mean anything from "can dress himself and communicate simple ideas" to "living independently, supporting a family on a six-figure income." That's not a very useful term at all.

I know what high-functioning is, but every time a topic like this comes up I always end up not understanding what it really means. To me, (and this is from MY experience) I always thought that ''a person with a disorder but is high-functioning'' meant you are able to take part in normal society, but maybe still require help and support and have some difficulties compared to the general population, but still able to be independant-minded and self-aware. This describes me, and seems to describe others with mild/high-functioning AS who I've seen in documentaries, even though they may have different IQ levels or whatever to me, they are still kind of on my ''level'' and wouldn't count them as ''severely disabled'' or anything like that, and could just pass off as NT. I wrnt to mainstream school, and there was nobody with any ''severe'' conditions there like Mental Retardation, Down's Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, or other conditions like that, so I must have been ''able'' enough to be able to cope through mainstream school with the same learning style as NTs, maybe with a little extra help and support with my work but not enough to need to be put in a special school.

That's my explanation of what I thought high-functioning meant. Probably I'm wrong, but it just seems that way to me.

I agree with Joe. However I have met a high functioning boy with downs syndrome. He had far more social confidence than me at the time.
In this society let's say has basic self help skills, average to high intelligence, is verbal and capable of putting together sentences enough for a conversation (but doesn't always use this ability whether by choice or not), may be independent or on the way to independence. Is capable of work, etc.

means: functions with less obstruction than counterparts within the cohort... right? high meaning more; functioning meaning able to do stuff... so high functioning = more able to do stuff...

I mean people translate from there... but isn't that the backbone of it?

(google says, and all know that google has all the answers)

Well, I think to most doctors, psychs, etc, it'd be basically "he can talk and cook breakfast for himself" or something to that effect. Basically if you're able and willing to talk on this messageboard, you're almost automatically considered high functioning.

In real life, there's sort of a middle ground I guess. The lowest functioning would be the completely mute autistic kids, and the highest functioning are...Bill Gates or something like that. The middle ground, imo, is people like Chris-Chan, who started off LFA, then got more functioning as time went on with a speech therapist, etc, so they're able to participate in the adult world, but for all intensive purposes are probably going to be perpetually 12 years old for the rest of their lives.

I think the main difference in terminology would be, an HFA would start their life as LFA, to be classified as HFA, and someone with Aspergers would probably have no intellectual disabilities, just social disability.

At least this is how I understand it.

Apparently I'm "high functioning" and still really can't tell exactly what it means. Seems there's a lot of range with it so really it's pointless to try to even notice any sort of differences. I've only ever known one other autistic person in real life,so for a long time before coming here, he was the only person I could compare myself to as far as autism goes, and there there was a big difference. Judging from what I've read here, though, it's very hard to tell what might be because of anything autism related or just personality, or if there's even anything separating those two things anyway. I do wonder sometimes if I'd been misdiagnosed and that I'm just really weird, but there's really no point when I've lived with the idea my entire life.

I think that is one of the good parts to the ASD aspect...

Perhaps if they defined a set of numbers... maybe somewhere that numbers could be expanded later... so maybe the low end is negative 50 and the high end is positive 50... where negative 50 = what the world currently considers NT, and positive 50 = completely dependent autistic...

I would guess most AS people would fall somewhere in the range of -40 through -10, HFA maybe between -9.999999 through +10 etc...

This way instead of there being a "high functioning" there is a sliding scale that expresses somewhat of a percentage that can be expanded on as science learns more...

Unfortunately that's how my brain works :\ so nobody else is going to do it that way because I don't have an interest in asserting myself in autistic measures, and I really don't know a ton about autism just about measures and metrics.

for the record, I would put myself at like -37 on that scale... maybe a little lower... also I am aware that technically I am reversing the scale from higher to lower... this is because I think autism is something that affects people as opposed to something that takes away from people... so the more it affects a person the HIGHER their level should be... but that's also just a perception

I don't know of any "official" or textbook definition for "High Functioning" (autism or Asperger's), but I'd say from common sense, that the term would indicate that the person at issue, is able to lead a normal life in most every way. That means he/she goes to school or works, and manages personal care, handles household and daily life activities "normally". But at the same time, does not function the same in social situations as NT people and/or has bizarre interests and hobbies, and shares many characteristics with the Autism community (such as eye contact problems, sensory overloads, odd vocabulary, etc etc).

Charles
(with High-Functioning Autism)

The most common description of high functioning I've seen is that the individual is able to do most (but not all) things required for self-care. They may need help from friends, family, or a service dog, and might never be able to live alone because of the things that they do need help on, but they can still do most things themselves (usually, ignoring meltdowns and bad shutdowns), rather than requiring full time support (either in the way of a PCA, or family member who is the support staff).