Quote accurately depicts issues with diagnosis

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“The difference between high functioning and low functioning is that high functioning means your deficits are ignored, and low functioning means your assets are ignored.” - Laura Tisoncik (Autistic writer and advocate)

This quote has helped me accept that I really am disabled and have genuine issues related to my Autism despite being High functioning.

Before accepting this, I had a lot of self-blame when it came to the problems I had.

It has also helped me understand and empathize with the more affected persons on the spectrum.


((The quote is from this article about intelligence, every day/executive functioning, and autism
https://spectrumnews.org/opinion/viewpo ... ic-adults/
))

Last edited by Sorrend on 21 Feb 2018, 5:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.

High-functioning is a deceptive term because it suggests that you function well, whereas sometimes I can barely function at all.

I almost feel like when I tell people this that I'm not fighting for myself. I feel like people have worked so hard to show that people with Autism can do whatever they want and be a part of society, but now I'm saying that I have problems.

IDK. Stigma. Social constructs. It's weird.

I have fairly major issues with the whole high / low functioning thing. I think for people not familiar with ASD, high makes it sound easy and low sounds like it involves intellectual disability. I think we need a new system but not sure what would accurately convey the challenges we all face.

I hadn't even heard of High Functioning Autism until less than a year ago, when it was first suggested to me that I might have it. Before that, the only Autism I knew about was Classic Autism.

The high/low labels have nothing to do with what I experience inside. There must be better terms to more accurately relate which aspects of autism one is most impacted by. If I could make my own based on everyone I know, I would call them Emotional, Sensory, No-Filter, Hyper-Empathetic, and most people combinations of those. That is, if you want labels. I would be happy to just call it autism.

The idea that only deficits or only assets are paid attention to really irks me in general. For everyone, not just autistics. Everyone has strengths and challenges, some are just more obvious than others.

That is exactly where I was 5 years ago. What shocked me was how many people have an opinion about it and yet I had no idea it existed!!

Good quote. I'd rate as high functioning, and I'm expected to have no deficits. Actually, I'm only productive in a partnership where I can rely on someone else for a few basics. People have no trouble coming to me for my expert advice, but they can't seem to fathom that I need their help in understanding people.

Worst is the people who doesn't only think that "high functioning" means "capable of being fully normal", but think that it means "super gifted".
They aired a TV show here a while ago, which got very popular, and made this a lot worse. It was about a few autistic people who were all incredibly gifted in one way or another. Sure, they did bring up a few of their problems (in a pretty unflattering way) but mostly it was about their talents.
Since that show went, whenever I tell someone about me or my brother being autistic, the question I get is "So what's your/his superpower?". Now, were not only expected to function just as well as NT's, but also to have some amazing talent.

If you have some special interest that they can't evaluate, you can claim amazing accomplishments and "threaten" to bore them with the details.

I read this quote the other day and it is help me a little with settling in with my diagnosis.

Another thing I read recently is that apparently the medical term ‘high-functioning autism’ is generally classed as the person has an IQ of above 80, which isn’t a lot really I guess.
If memory serves I think Aspergers is generally claimed that people can have an average to above average IQ, ‘average’ seems to be deemed as between 90-110.

Autism media representation these days almost has you thinking the exact opposite. Every low functioning autistic is touted in the media as some sort of "savant," while higher functioning people are thought of as weird, aloof or potential school shooters. In ordinary life, high functioning, verbal people get "If you can do X, why can't you do Y" all the time.

I don't like this giving IQ scores to non-verbal autistic people. Because a person with that type of autism can't be tested they get a low score? And then they are severely limited by low expectations. (I'm assuming this. I don't know any "low functioning" people personally.)

I think you are right here but disability is measured against an imaginary social norm. The further away from that you are the more serious the condition.

IQ tests don't work for autistics. They are standardised against a non-autistic population. There are certain parts of most common IQ tests where most autistics outperform non-autistics and vice versa which means that no one can be sure how accurate they actually are.

Yeah sorry if I offended anyone with that post, I was only going off what I’d read, and realised afterwards I might have appeared insensitive to high-functioning Autism.

If it’s any consolation, I don’t think IQ tests are necessarily a good way of measuring intelligence as there are so many ways of taking a test and not everyone works in the same way.

I took an online IQ test once, and part of it’s measuring of IQ seemed to be how quick you answered the questions, now personally I tend to take longer to answer questions as I try to think them through thoroughly, and under pressure I take longer again - so that particular test isn’t really going to give me an accurate representation of my IQ anyway.

I might not be able to answer questions quickly, but given enough time I’m fairly confident I can figure anything out.

Apologies again if I caused any offence to anyone

I like that quote, a lot, actually. I am going to explain some things from my work experience and it is not intended to offend anyone...and there is a point at the end. Please excuse this awkward use of language - I can't always find the words to convey what I am thinking of - and try to see the message.

Low/high functioning terms are used by the "professionals" in the developmental disability community I work within, but are also considered not to be "politically correct." However, I don't know of terms to substitute that are not also degrading or deficit focused. Within my work context, low functioning ASD does not include people who can use this forum. Due to "IQ" deficits, they cannot read or write or care for themselves in the most basic ways. high functioning individuals are people with higher "IQs" with basic functioning skills, including language more or less intact.

As I understand it, "IQ" has only to do with school learning-type intelligence and little or nothing to do with social intelligence. I know people with low "IQs" who are socially integrated and socially intelligent and can function socially just fine. On the other hand, people with ASD, even with more "normal" intelligence suffer desperately from social anxiety and so on. AND it is easier to access funding for assistance for people with "low functioning" than with "high functioning." I believe, and I could be wrong, that "professionals" and politicians look at "high functioning" ASD as just an emotional problem, or just lazy, or just "weird" rather than a crippling disability that can impair functioning. As if "we" can just "train" "them" to function in society.

So, the long awaited point is: What can we, as aspies, do to wrest control of the classifications and "therapies" away from the "professionals" and politicians and bring us all into the future? Or maybe that isn't even the problem. I am genuinely interested in this larger problem.