High Functioning

It conjures up a view of something like a superpower to a lot of people, I don't think many people realise that it means "outwardly appearing to be fine while you're struggling like hell on the inside to keep it up"

The more we mask the more people assume we're ok,  if we're trying to hide something and we're successful, we can't blame people for not noticing it. 

I've been told "nobody would ever know you were autistic unless you wanted them to" ,  "that's because they can't feel my anxiety and distress and if I'm masking well they won't see it either"

This is often overlooked by NTs, the cost we pay for masking, or the length a meltdown can affect us etc. Courts got it right with PIP (in general about MH, but surely applies to Autism) when they ruled that a person who needs support for any event  may need support weeks ahead and weeks after it.

Functioning or not functioning in society is often looked on as an on/off switch. Those able to function are fine and dandy, holding down jobs and suchlike, while those unable to function are the subject of relatively high levels of support and concern by and from society. I do not begrudge people with high support needs getting appropriate levels of support, far from it, but, the idea that autistic people who can function in society do not often also have very debilitating problems is not true. People who can and do outwardly function, often pay a high price in anxiety, stress and poor mental health.

But it's too one dimensional.  I am extremely 'high functioning' in terms of my career and finance but could not be much more 'low functioning' socially.

TheCatWoman said:

Personally I find the term a bit insulting as well as divisive and dismissive.

Can you tell us why you feel it is divisive and dismissive please?

I think it is fairly descriptive and in the absence of better labels, quite appropriate. The "functioning" part is how well we are able to function in society compared to others with autism, but that is just my opinion.

I think it’s a legacy of the idea that we are on a linear spectrum with profoundly disabled people at one end and super geniuses at the other.

It would be great if we could normalise the understanding that we have spiky profiles and might indeed be a super genius but also completely incapable of doing basic things like talking or managing a home.

I think it might be useful in terms of fostering the understanding that there are some people who don't "look" autistic but still are. 

I understand why you find the term a bit insulting and divisive Catwoman, but the problem is that many people still associate autism with severe learning difficulties. I am autistic but do not have any learning difficulties, I just need some minor adjustments at work. So maybe it helps non autistic people to understand us better? I have a few NT friends at work, so I might ask them if they think it's helpful.

I have a neighbour with a Autistic son. he will never life an independant life,and  he is non verbal. For me High functioning is the opposite. I have a mortgage, wife, and have always worked. I am high functionaling, and outwardly normal because of 54 years of marsking. Obviously there will be prople in the middle, I know I am in the 'top' 10%. ASD is such a wide range of issues. I would like to see a better term as it almost dismisses what I have against the other end of the ASD spectrum, kind of makes me feel like an imposter sometimes.

Rob