mild autism vs moderate autism

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what are the diference between mild autism to moderate autism? im curious and remember i don't have aspergers or hfa-type and what are the symptoms like

~ PEACE ~

Technically, these days, "moderate autism" would fall under "Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level Two, I would believe.

Subjectively, I would say that a person with moderate autism is able to perform his/her ADL's (e.g., toileting, washing), without a hitch. I would say the person is, most of the time, able to express his/her self through speech. Additionally, a person with moderate autism usually would not exhibit the self-injurious behavior that many people with relatively severe autism exhibit.

A person with moderate autism, I would believe, requires at least some support in order to get through the day. He/she might be very prone to meltdowns because of changes in routine, or because he/she is forced not to pursue his/her "special interest." He/she might have relatively severe sensory difficulties which interfere with functioning much of the time. He/she might not be able to restrain his/her self in public when a desire to "stim" occurs.

All in all, a person with moderate autism, to me, requires at least some support from somebody else consistently. Attaining full independence would be difficult for such a person.

I'm mild to moderate.

Mild - Can live more or less independently
Moderate - Needs some assistance, but no all the time
Severe - Needs 24/7 care

Somebody: It's almost impossible for you to be severely autistic because you seem to have at least average intelligence.

You seem "moderate" to me.

I sound "disabled" to myself, repetitive language and obvious restrictive interests to the exclusion of most things I should do. Dyspraxia affects my actions and speech some. Difficult behaviors for me are fairly low, until my environment changes (like trying to work/volunteer, or my interests get suspended). Living with significant support is more realistic than complete independence someday. Thanking God for sensory integration therapy which greatly helped me.
Flapping my hands when happy or excited is common wherever. Socially and independent living skills is where I need much help in- than just lack of planning.

You can be disabled even if you are "mild". These terms are very difficult. You can't really make clear cut black and white definitions because someone who is mild might struggle dramatically in some areas where someone who might be considered severe might able to do some things in other areas that a mild or moderate person might not be able to. But the general idea of mild = can live pretty independently, moderate = needs some assistance and severe = needs much assistance all the time are pretty good ways to say it. But you can be considered disabled in any of the three categories depending on how the particulars of your Autism affect your daily life.

I'd like to add a link to this comic explaining the autism spectrum: http://the-art-of-autism.com/understand ... planation/

The point being that autism isn't best viewed as being mild or severe except in terms to overall functioning level, as the specific characteristics of autism very with the person so some are more severe and some are more mild.

As someone diagnosed level 2 ie moderate, I will say for one thing is quite obvious. There are threads on WP asking if you reveal to others that you have autism or keep it secret. When you are level 2 it's quite obvious something is significantly wrong with you, not something you can keep to yourself.

When you are level 2, you don't have live an average lifestyle, have a regular job, drive yourself around in a car etc. If you work it's under specialized conditions and you get driven around or take the bus.

You need extra help and extra controls. Stimming, sensory overload, meltdowns and the like are much more profound and frequent.

That's my take on it anyways.

Mine is mild, but it has flucuated in the past, even to the point of severe (probably).

An autistic blogger I once read seemed to put the difficulty with functioning levels, degrees of severity etc very well - she told the story of two women. Both of them were wives and mothers. Both autistic. One managed to get housework done, care for her children, work part time, care for herself, express herself well enough. The other suffered sensory problems to overwhelm and was sometimes nonverbal, often forgot things crucial to caring for the children, sometimes forgot to wash herself for days on end and struggled with housework, struggled with her job, etc.
You would say one woman was "mild," the other "moderate." Seems clear. But her point was that these women were both her, on different days or in different situations. Sometimes she was considered mild, but sometimes moderate or even severe.
Though I understand Ezra's point, I think for some it may be a spectrum in the individual, too, and is so for me. Sometimes you may not notice I'm autistic and I seem fine, but other times you'd be shocked and if I was in that state all the time, they'd put me away.
For one I don't like functioning levels. Maybe it's useful for clinicians to coordinate support but really, why even that? Why can't they just assess the individual, without giving them some label that makes them different from others?

I wonder what happened to Kingdom of Rats.

I hope she's still enjoying those chickens.