Published on 12, July, 2020
Is What does this actally mean in practice, not the dictionary definition, but for those of us so labelled? Although no ones ever told me I'm high functioning, I guess I am.
Is it a helpful term or unhelpful?
Does it express our experiences properly or reflect away from them?
Is this a term more helpful to NT's than us?
Personally I find the term a bit insulting as well as divisive and dismissive.
I’ve personally heard remarks from other people of, mildly or slightly autistic, there is a perception that “high functioning” autistic people require little or no support. This is why so many of us end up in burnout, as someone else stated, we are more high masking, in a social setting my battery is most probably exhausting at twice the rate of a neurotypical person, this isn’t a them and us rant either. For me to mask with extroverts is like a torture. ( have I said the right thing, did I laugh or remember to smile?) I am married, work and have adult children, from the outside I look normal and would be classed as “high functioning.” Some days I can’t get out of bed and dress myself yet the world only sees the neurotypical husband and dad. Some days I’m none verbal, am I still highly functional? The DSM-5 manual states, level 1 autism - requires support.
You've just almost described me there too!
I do find it frustrating that one of our big issues as autistic people (fatigue from masking) goes unacknowledged, but I guess that's what masking is, trying to hide ourselves in the neuro typical crowd, so maybe the better we are at it, the less credit. A sad Irony in a way.