Do higher functioning people want to deny lower functioning exist?

I'm not sure that I know where the boundary between 'higher' and 'lower' functioning people lies.

It's very clear that autism has a different impact on different people, and that some people on the spectrum have greater challenges in some areas than others. It may well be that some people look at those that struggle with things they can do and feel distinct from them, or even feel a need to distance themselves.

That's true for anybody responding to a disability or failure to adopt norms though, rather than a trait or aspect of 'higher' functioning autism.

Personally I'm glad that I do not have the issues that some autistic people face, even as i struggle with my own. I don't however for a moment deny that those people exist, that their issues exist or that they need support and help. To the extent that I may be guilty of avoiding them, it certainly would not be denial. I can't cope with my own issues, trying to handle someone else's is often quite beyond me, it really is easier to just walk away.

Cruel perhaps, but also a survival instinct. I can offer only sympathy.

I think we are all different. I would class myself as gifted intelligence but socially absolutely terrible and come across as a nervous wreck so bad that I can even feel that people feel sorry for me

You have posted how people may have been misdiagnosed, but as you have said yourself, you have not had a formal diagnosis including the ADOS test. I don't think your GP is qualified to say you have Aspergers. He should be referring you to a Psychologist for a formal ASD assessment ??

No the NHS only know as a Psychiatrist visited us about something else when I was nineteen and said that I have mild Autism.  That was in 1976.  My GP informed me that it is the only record the NHS has about me been Autistic.  Doctor Howlin has since Emailed me to say that I certainly have Asperger Syndrome.

Have you gone trough the normal diagnosis process and had an ADOS-2 Module 4 test ?

I am supposed to have Asperger Syndrome.  A Psychiatrist when I was nine wanted to send me to an Autistic School.  My mother sent me to the State Primary School.  If I had gone to an Autistic School I am sure I would not have fitted in.  Autistic people who can speak quite fluently won't fit in with Non-Verbal Autistics.  I might not be Autistic at all,  I might just have Dyspraxia.   A Canadian Psychologist who tested me in Israel in 1983 for the late Professor Feuerstine Emailed me from Toronto that I have a Non-Verbal learning difficulty on the right side of my brain and thinks I have Dyspraxia and was surprised that I am supposed to have Asperger Syndrome.  I expect that there are other people who have been wrongly diagnosed with a form of Autism but have other disabilities.

Hi Roswell, I’m a little taken aback with your post. I’ve always found you to be very articulate and insightful. You kindly engaged in my post recently and I found what you had to say really helpful and considered. I get what your saying about “friends”. I personally find the whole experience tedious and over rated. Lockdown has shown me that none of the individuals my wife says are friends, are anything of the sort. I didn’t get a word from any of them. I noticed recently that when there is WhatsApp chat, everyone makes remarks and gets some come back, I say something and NOTHING!! But I’m not that bothered.

There are also plenty of NT’s who class themselves as High Functioning or highly intelligent, but most of them have no common sense, no appreciation for anyone but themselves and can only really talk about the endless amount of stuff they have and how much they earn, and then claim to be environmentally aware. It’s a joke.

I think you’re doing ok dude, don’t be so hard on yourself.

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I feel lonely tonight. I had a meal with my mother and father and sister. As usual, my father treated me like I'm a little idiot. He's a miserable stiff fellow. He's self-important and disapproves of anything fun unless it's part of his sanctioned area of familiarity. Whenever I say something clever or interesting, it's as if he's jealous I've come up with something he couldn't have.

And nobody will help me find anywhere else to live. So they just want me to rot in isolation, obscurity. Fine. 

Roswell said:

I like history, sociology, economics, philosophy, literature. Maybe there's more potential to make friends with those interests.

I wonder if those subjects are more immediately group confrontational discussions where I'd find it hard to judge the level and tone of the others to work out where to pitch my input & responses.       I would come across very badly in that environment.    I'm more at home talking about aeroplanes or Lego.  

I have some academic sort of nerdy interests.

I like history, sociology, economics, philosophy, literature. Maybe there's more potential to make friends with those interests. I will try searching for people like that and writing to them.

When I was talking about functioning it relates to how well someone can handle social situations. I am just very poor at it.

I'm upset that after emailing many university professors with a magazine article I got published about Autism and romance none of them have replied. It does seem a lot of people think they're better than me because I don't have the right connections!

I use the term 'nerd' to describe the type of person that has more interests, knowledge and  substance than the typical superficial NTs.   It's probably the easiest way I can draw a picture to identify them than other descriptors.   

I'm not joking though, in every field where in-depth knowledge is required, I see predominately ASD people.

I try to move away from the 'Nerd' stereotype. However, I am competent enough with technology. I was pushed into coding but lost the appetite during the Final Year of University. Administration is my Tribe, as far as job opportunities go. But it's difficult for a Bloke to get hired there.

I find your writing on here perfectly 'high functioning' so I'm not sure what you mean.    From your past posts, I feel a lot of your issues come from your environment and the lack of people to relate to to form a friendship group or a place where you can be comfortable to socialise without getting overloaded.

I've never found eye-contact to be an issue with nerdy friends talking about a 'thing' like a car engine where everyone is looking at oily bits rather than each other.      Do you have any nerdy interests that would enable that type of passive friendships?     Those nerdy type of hobbies seem to encourage lots of Auties & Aspies as it's more about the knowledge and enthusiasm being valued over social skills.   In those activities, you just being there and maybe helping out would likely gain the acceptance you want.

Measuring success is very difficult - most people brag or exaggerate their deeds so it's really hard to measure every aspect of their lives - successful in one area may not equate to successful in everything.

Twitter is not real - people click to follow thousands of random people but rarely bother to un-follow - so your followers may not even exist any more - just a tag with no-one ever looking or signing on.   I've never even tried social media - from what I've seen it seems very NT and full of lies.