Does high intelligence nwcessarily mean high functioning?

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One hypothesis for why autism is so common in human populations is that the genes associated with autism under certain circumstances and in certain combinations can result in a person with quite high IQ (with varying degrees of other challenges). However, an over-expression of these genes caused by different genetic or environmental contexts results in people who are classically referred to as on the "low function" end of the spectrum. It's a nice story anyway. We'll see how the evidence falls into place as research advances.

I think gauging what level you might be , if you think you might be on the spectrum but are not yet diagnosed, is hard.
I'd guess most people here would be level 1 or 2. What counts as substantial help re level 2 vs some help re level 1? I'm quite verbal but have poor practical skills. Without help from my stepdaughter and having someone come in twice a week to do housework I'd be living in a mess. My stepdaughter comes to appointments with me. Either she or one of my granddaughters takes me shopping. They try to take me when it's not too busy as I get quite anxious. The other week my stepdaughter wanted to check out a new Lidl supermarket , but decided not to as it was really busy and wouldn't be fair on me.

I would pose the question is it the degree of autistic symptoms or difficulty with living skills etc that matters most when assigning a level. I'm definitely not intellectually disabled and am not brain damaged as far as I know.

It's very likely,though I'm not diagnosed, that I have what Americans call a learning disability . This is because I'm much better verbally than non-verbally/spatially .
I've done several non-verbal tests online and average in the 70s. My practical skills are poor/very poor.

I have great difficulty socially . Have had it written in a supporting letter for disability benefits that my social skills are very poor.

Yeah, a level one can easily slip through the cracks especially a female. Often times with level one, you don't really notice the big issues until around adolescence when social expectations change especially if there was no language delay and a high IQ. And sometimes the issues that happen in adolescence are just kind of looked at as weirdness. And many level ones learn to hide their traits and symptoms as a survival mechanism. So many don't get discovered until they are much older and the pressures of adult life become too much to handle.

Going to boarding school at 8 first brought some issues to the fore , but it wasn't till going to public school at 13 that the social issues became really pronounced . I was definitely regarded as the 'weird boy' by my peers. I once had monkey chants directed at me in a geography class by a lot of the other pupils.