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Please GET RID of functioning labels!!!

Hope

Okay, I need to rant. Today I felt CryYell after an ignorant Neurotypical told me that I am 'really high-functioning'. This person, athough not an expert, does work with people who have autism. She does not know me that well, so what does she mean by this? I look, for want of a better word, normal, very normal in fact. There are no outward signs of disability; I have a University degree, I am eloquent and can speak clearly, and do not exhibit any concerning behaviour when I am out in public (note - if I am highly stressed, I can put myself in danger, but most of the time I do not display any strange behaviour). Yes my traits not immediately obvious, but my life is severely impacted by my traits: I cannot organise my life without parental support; I have OCD;dyscalculia; anxiety. Now, on there own, these traits might not be that significant, but when combined, they prevent me from working and living a full and varied life - is there anything high-functioning about this?!!! This label trivialises my difficulties and is incredibly patronising. Has anyone else here experienced  anguish upon hearing this term? Has anyone else been described as 'high-functioning', while disagreeing that the term applies to them? And is not 'low functioning' equally problematic?

 

Parents

  • classic codger - your Homo Sapiens/Homo Aspie comparison made me laugh Laughing

    Good points longman. With regard to metaphors, I have learnt some of the more obvious ones. My problem, as you allude, is with more subtle irony and sarcasm, and I can still be flummoxed if I hear a metaphor that is not often used. Some NTs, though, assume  that I must find all metaphor difficult, and this is patronising. I am not a child, I am an adult, and I do have the capacity to learn! I am no longer fooled by 'it's raining cats and dogs' because I have long learnt its meaning. Autism is developmental and lifelong, and the nature of development is change - we are not stuck in a time-warp, we can learn and develop. Therefore, the triad as applied to children might look different in an adult who has learned to compensate.

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  • classic codger - your Homo Sapiens/Homo Aspie comparison made me laugh Laughing

    Good points longman. With regard to metaphors, I have learnt some of the more obvious ones. My problem, as you allude, is with more subtle irony and sarcasm, and I can still be flummoxed if I hear a metaphor that is not often used. Some NTs, though, assume  that I must find all metaphor difficult, and this is patronising. I am not a child, I am an adult, and I do have the capacity to learn! I am no longer fooled by 'it's raining cats and dogs' because I have long learnt its meaning. Autism is developmental and lifelong, and the nature of development is change - we are not stuck in a time-warp, we can learn and develop. Therefore, the triad as applied to children might look different in an adult who has learned to compensate.

Children
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