High Functioning

I don't like this idea of autistic people having some kind of super power either, I find that just as disabling, as having next to no power, to me that implies comic book levels of defiance of the law of science etc. I have a good memory, I have trained my memory, its something that has kept me sane over the years when people have tried to twist, distort and deny things I know have happened. This is not a super power, its a learnt ability. I can cook well and have an excellent palet for tastes, smells and textures, so do many others. I think we all have things were good or very good at.

I think a lot of people get upset whent they find out I'm autustic, I'm often met with disbelief, because I look and act normal, male autists can be quite dismissive of me as a female autist.

Does anyone think saying something like “high masking” instead of ‘high functioning’ could be helpful?

I thought since masking could probably have some part with people thinking you are arent struggling as much as you are (which some of you mentioned). But I think there are also people with like intellectual disabilities who would be considered “low functioning” regardless if they masked. So maybe something like “Im a high masking autistic with no intellectual disabilities”? It probably isnt much more helpful but maybe it can give someone a better idea

Or some people say “has high support needs/ low support needs”

Others I know will just say the persons specific support needs but I feel like that could be inconvenient in a quick comment.

I personally just say autistic and dont ussually mention “functionality” unless its needed for the specific thing im talking about.

There probably isnt a prrfect termnology

What Amerantin said, and because I think that it dismisses our ability not to cope, 'but you're usually such a strong person' being one example thats been said to me more than once. I think it's divisive because it ranks us with a top and a bottom set of characteristics, and it's very difficult to change rank, such ranking sets limits and boundaries on what we are and are not allowed to "do". And I do believe it to be a case of being allowed, high functioning people maybe made to feel like they've failed if they have a meltdown or just become exhausted, low functioning people maybe led to believe they can never achieve anything and so are never given the chance to do so.

The NT world seems to want everyone to be part of a tribe that they can exert some control over, divide and conquer, this is how I feel that the term high functioning works. 'Look at them over there, do you want to be like them? You're not like them, you're better than that.' With the implication that we should pity others, that there will be no pity for us should we slide into meltdown and drop our masks. I see it as an attemt to divide us from our neurokin.

Being perceived as high functioning means receiving no help or support. I desperately needed that support in my teens and twenties and never got it, and my life has never recovered. But people see me going to work and paying my bills and don’t realise what’s happened.

Hi Catwomen 

Personally I don’t find the term offensive to me but I can see why some individuals would. I suppose a good all round definition would be ASC as we all are very different and have very different needs, and yes if you are classed as HFA there is so much that is not visible. 
Unfortunately HFA to a lot of the NT community means you require little to no help which for me simply isn’t true. I still mask and know only too well how I can go unnoticed to the untrained eye (why would they think anything else in my case).

I think I have just realised that the term HFA is unhelpful though, reason why is in my case I mask heavily therefore how can I expect a NT to understand me at all unless I start to be my authentic self. 

I can’t wait until the day I make that decision and discover for myself who I am. 

This is all still very new for me but it’s a very interesting thread by the way! 

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.

NAS65321 said:

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.

That was Aspergers but of course it's now been denounced...

I understand why, but it did make the distinction quite neatly I think without the inherent comparison.

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

Very well said.

I find it useful.

It is meant in the context of other autistic people and I have no doubt that I am 'high' functioning compared to those with high support needs.

However, I think perhaps 'better' might be more appropriate.

It's not meant to mean that we are high functioning in the context of allistic society, or at least that is my understanding.

When we have discussions on here I find it very difficult to differentiate myself verbally from those autistic people who might not even be able to use this forum - I think that those others are sometimes overlooked.

This term helps me make that distinction.

I understand though about the spectrum and spiky profile.