IQ and Functioning Levels

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Gosh I wish NTs knew that the two were separate. You can have a lower IQ and a higher ASD functioning level and vice versa.

Sure you can. People with Down Syndrome mostly have little or no autistic symptoms.

Of course, one can be, say, moderately intellectually disabled, yet have only mild autism. Or vice versa.

Kraftie, you made my point. This person is really cool that was having these misconceptions....but she and grand daughter of a recent school superintendent don't know jack about autism. Both work in the school that I do. Both equate autism with IQ.

How do you perceive/experience this problem? I work in human services, and people generally have minimal understanding of ASD. I also feel like people tend to credit any behavior to ASD, even though I work with these individuals because they have an intellectual disability (not to mention whatever other diagnoses they may have).

People also tend to correlate communication with intelligence, assuming non-verbal individuals have low IQs. People assume you're dumb if you don't communicate like them. Some ASD individuals I work with seem very smart and observant, even if they don't communicate in a way that seems obvious to other people. Makes me wonder if their IQ really is low, or just scored low based on differences in communication. I also wonder if adults who communicate fairly well, but have ASD traits, tend not to get diagnosed because professionals think they communicate too well (even if they don't really have a very NT communication style).

Seems to me that many people get squeezed into diagnostic categories, rather than having categories being a little more flexible to fit real, live human beings, which might also be a cause for what you're describing. Ironically, a world that says ASD involves black and white thinking also takes a black and white view toward ASD. ASD seems to be a set of traits which in an individual can each be expressed in combinations of varying extremes, rather than a scale of 1-10.

These are people that got their jobs in education based on being related to the right people. Happens everywhere.

It's frustrating to say the least.

Yeah. And other Aspies do this too. They try to draw a neat line between high-functioning (intelligent, verbal, and capable of independence) and low-functioning (intellectually disabled, nonverbal or minimally verbal, and needing constant support). But it's more complicated than that. Intellectual disability can affect one's ability to function, regardless of the severity of the actual autism symptoms, so autistics with intellectual disability shouldn't automatically be considered "severely autistic". The idea of the dichotomy between high and low-functioning can lead people to deny the capabilities of those seen as low-functioning, as well as the struggles of those seen as high-functioning.

AP is right.

This is absolutely right. I am married and have children and a job. Apparently therefore, high-functioning. Well no, not really. Every day is still a struggle and I need Prozac to get through it. There are people with lower IQ's than me (most people I meet, probably). They almost all function better than me.

Agreed. Everyone has potential. The problem here is that IQ is an outdated concept, as are many social aspects in the modern world.

My IQ is extraordinarily high. On paper I am a genius.

Alas, then there the reality which does not exist on paper. In the real world I get lost going places I have been to before, miss tons of social cues, would forget my head if it wasn't firmly affixed to my neck, am constantly late, get distracted by bright shiny objects, can't be trusted to take care of myself or even eat when left to my own devices and can no longer hold a job. That's fairly low-functioning if you ask me. Yes, I can drive. Yes, I can be quite articulate. Yes, I know HOW to care for myself. But can I be trusted to perform the daily activities of living without supervision? Not on your life. Or rather, mine.

Thus, even though there is ample theoretical evidence to the contrary I tend to regard myself as being rather stupid. One can be quite intellectually gifted and still behave as if they are dumber than a box of rocks. Which I do.

Yes.

This would really frustrate some people in my life and they’d say “But you’re so smart!” in a frustrated tone as if to say “So why in the f**k can’t you do these things/work/make connections/make money?? etc”

And I’d have to point out to them that while it frustrates Them that I couldn’t manage to “get my s**t together,” it frustrated ME even more.

Both IQ and functioning labels have very little meaning and are not very accurate.