high functioning/low functioning

who brings up the subject that you are autistic ?

The worst part is when people actually act shocked when you tell them you are autistic. Not realizing that you are so good at hiding it and fall apart when you get home :(

LongSpoons said:

addressing

Even if there was something like, I would probably never find out about it. and if I did, I would have to fight my reluctance to ask for help.

Anyway, a lot of places, where it used to happen, or something like it, suspended it's activities because of covid.

In Brighton there is a charity Assert helping autistic. I found a video on their website, where it looks like there are autistic people playing RPGs and boardgames in the background. I would find myself there,I actualy miss to have someone to play games with, and neither of my friends is a gamer. But that activity is suspended until further notice, and further notice will happen spring next year.

I could do that, addressing issues together :)

For me it’s not about dividing it’s about addressing each trait on its own merits. I’m lucky I have good management on many traits but hyper focus needs action and overwhelm needs peace. 

it just another version of their need to divide, so they could feel better than others, deep inside they know it's a lie, and they do it anyway, just another world for racism

myself I prefer current version, just spectrum, instead of division between us into subtypes.

When I tell people, that there are stupid and there are intelligent between autustic, the same as between them, I usually get the furious blinking response :P

Spectrum is such a NT concept 

The whole 'Autism Spectrum' analyses needs re-evaluating imo. Too many Doctor's have little experience with it and the public know the word Autism but also know very little about how it affects different people.

It’s not just you, I think the whole spectrum thing gives folk the agency to decide how much support you need.

In the diagnostic criteria there is no direct mention of intelligence. Therefore intelligence has no bearing on diagnosis, except in regard to support needs. However, there are people diagnosed with autism who have below average intelligence. What is not clear to me is, is the autism affecting them so severely as to result in intellectual impairment, or is it merely comorbid?

There seems to be a lot of people talking about this. Clinical labels when used by the general public become a bit warped. 

I'm not certain there is a better way just yet to express needing help other than finding a friend who you might compliment (you can do things to help one another). All neurotypes need help of some sort. Some can envision the way I might. No one can do it all. I think this might be a good argument for investing in a community of shared interest even if not fully committed. 

Also no ones going to say “I have a Autism spectrum disorder without disorder of intellectual development and with mild or no impairment of functional language.” They’re going to say “I’m autistic.” Adding anything more than a couple of words on to ‘autistic’ is going to be too much of a mouthful and loose peoples attention.

I’ve said before I believe the terms high / low functioning gained traction when researchers started using them as a euphemism for high / low IQ. There is an argument for making a distinction between high / low IQ autism. ICD-11 has “6A02.0 Autism spectrum disorder without disorder of intellectual development and with mild or no impairment of functional language”. So there may be some acknowledgment in medican for the value of such a distinction. But given there are 5 different kinds of autism specified in ICD-11 plus 2 catch all codes I’m doubtful if clinicians will use it.