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Oyez, oyez! Calling all "high functioners"!

Deleted User

...Autism is a spectrum and everyone is different. What characterises a diagnosis of autism is if it has an impact on ones daily life. I am classed as "high functioning" but currently do not know what this means.

Overload as a result from doing less than what someone who is not autistic can do. This means currently bare minimum of activity because intolerance and sensory input cannot be regulated. 
Working hours are reduced because of the struggle to cope with full time even though preference is to work more. The load is primarily from executive function difficulties which also include the social aspect and sensory. Fatigue on a daily basis which impacts everything.

So, when people make throwaway comments like "we're all a bit autistic" or "I think my dog is a bit autistic" (yes, I was present), or labels like "high functioning", or someone gets imposter syndrome thinking they are "not autistic enough", just remember - the difficulties faced - on a daily basis - which many people do not face.

I'm not saying no-one else has problems, but they are of a different kind.

Parents

  • I am not saying I use these labels myself, this is why I put the term in inverted speech. Motivation for the thread wasn't to discuss the terms. It seems "high functioning", although not an official term or one I am diagnosed with, is still perceived by many to be the case. People who I would assume (from my reliable radar) that they don't have lived experience. Behind closed doors,  the difficulties are apparent. Since more people are aware of my status (which is still on a need to know basis), casual terms are chucked about in social group settings. This doesn't happen on a one to one basis with them, but more a thoughtful discussion. This further confirms my status of out_of_steppedness as I observe behaviours and opinions are inconsistent between individuals in different social contexts depending on numbers and who is present. But no one apart from me seems to notice or care.

    While I'm not responsible for other people's lack of understanding (no one is perfect and there are concepts I don't understand either), casual usage of the term when talking about another person or animal's idiosyncracies rather than difficulties which present on a daily basis does irk me. 

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  • I am not saying I use these labels myself, this is why I put the term in inverted speech. Motivation for the thread wasn't to discuss the terms. It seems "high functioning", although not an official term or one I am diagnosed with, is still perceived by many to be the case. People who I would assume (from my reliable radar) that they don't have lived experience. Behind closed doors,  the difficulties are apparent. Since more people are aware of my status (which is still on a need to know basis), casual terms are chucked about in social group settings. This doesn't happen on a one to one basis with them, but more a thoughtful discussion. This further confirms my status of out_of_steppedness as I observe behaviours and opinions are inconsistent between individuals in different social contexts depending on numbers and who is present. But no one apart from me seems to notice or care.

    While I'm not responsible for other people's lack of understanding (no one is perfect and there are concepts I don't understand either), casual usage of the term when talking about another person or animal's idiosyncracies rather than difficulties which present on a daily basis does irk me. 

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