Higher Level ASD - What does it mean

Dear Grazza86

Thank you for replying to my post. It is good to hear sucha positive experience from someone who actually has AS. When you were young how was it for you getting the help? Did it make sense to you then and did the other children ever comment about it? 

Your English seems fine to me. 

Thanks Vic x

HFA doesnt seem to have much of a description to it. But i believe it can cause high level of stress to an autistic person

Anyway im new to this, and im Autistic too (i have AS) and my experiences with AS have been OK.

I was a person to get a lot of 1 to 1 help at primary and high school, knowing i would of struggled, i needed the help that was there for me at the time, and not only that, i gained help outside of classes, like extra english lessons (my english isnt exactly fantastic)

And then college came along and i never recieved the same help, although i did get some, but at least i came through the courses i did just fine.

Then onto higher education, and i continually received the help that i needed (although this time i had to take part in sorting things out), since i started HE i have had notetakers and support from people.

Outside of that, its hard for people to understand what AS is. Its like if you come across someone you have never met and say something strange, you woulkd probably just get laughed at (can depend on the person too, they might know a bit about AS)

Its can be hard for us AS people to be accepted into some crowds, because of such things like a habit they have or a thing they will say or do.

I have a habit of twisting things like bag handles (which i love doing) and people can laugh all they want...... id just continue to do what i like to do with a bag handle or a piece of clothing.

and i tend to like football and computer games most :)

Thanks  B'lanna Torres and Tammera I appreciate you both sharing your stories with me. At the moment I am learning a lot about AS-HFA. And finding things that def identify my son and others that are def not like him at all. I can't wait to get back to the paediatrician and find out what they think now, nearly a year on. 

I think the most important thing i have learnt is what you said B'lanna, that no two people with AS-HFA are the same 

Thanks 

Hope. thank you for taking the time to write to me. It is nice to hear from someone who knows first hand what all these things are like. 

x

I have 'high-functioning' asperger's. I am 'high-functioning' in the sense that I learnt to speak on time, have no problems with language-in fact, it is my strength-and my asperger's is very subtle. I can come across to a layman as 'normal', and my behaviour is often mis-interpreted as shyness, youthfulness or immaturity. People are often very surprised when I tell them that I am 23 years old. They often think that I am still a teenager! I am a very small, slight person, with a small child-like face (I used to not like this, but now I think it is quite a good thing to look so young!).  I also have a very young voice (or so I have been told).

I have always looked way younger than my years. Perhaps this is why my AS was not diagnosed when I was a child-I may have got a way with a lot more than I would have done if I looked my age.

Because my verbal skills are so good and because I have a lot of insight into my condition, I have been able to mask my AS by learning the basic rules of conversation. I am a keen observer, and I am good at  learning things in an intellectual manner. However, AS affects my entire life. I am extremely self-absorbed, obsessive, phobic and rule-based. I have never been able to understand the rules of friendship, always have to monitor my behaviour when I am in public, all because social skills do not come naturally to me.

I did receive a statement of special needs when I was at school, due to impairments in fine motor skills, problems with organization and practical skills. My parents were often called into school due to the fact that I was disruptive in class. My problems were first identified when I started nursury school, it was just that no name was put to them.

From my experience, I think that HFA and asperger's syndrome are different. People with asperger's are often better able to mask their symptoms, tend to be more social and have better verbal abilities than those with HFA. However, HFA and asperger's are both part of the same condition-autism-and often people with HFA become more asperger like as they get older, although I have always met the asperger criteria

Diagnosed on NHS with asperger and OCD two years ago. I am female

My son is 13, has a statement of SEN, High Funtioning Autism, was completely silent until he was 4years old and is at Grammar School doing very well Academically. He hasn't however managed to make a friend yet, can't cope with going out and about on his own and has challenging behaviour. I knew nothing about Autism before I he was diagnosed and then I noticed his younger sister was also showing signs of being Autistic (diagnosed at 3 years old and much further down the Spectrum).

It will be an interesting/slightly anxious time for you in the next few years but try to see your son as an individual rather than as a child with high functioning ASD. Although they all have the same diagnosis no two people with ASD are alike 

Probably sounds blunt, but you will get used to the funny looks, the feeling and accusations of bad parenting, it doesnt stop. its ignorance, people see classic autism on tv and think thats all it is. up untill a few years ago i thought everyone in ethiopa was sat in a field starving to death, but thats not true and was ignorance on my part because thats all i had seen on tv.  the amount of times people including family said, she hasnt got autism you can tell that by looking at her, or when they question what your child does, then after you tell them, you get, my child, the neighbours child, cousins child etc does that, and theres nothing wrong with them, they and most people dont understand, its not the same as normal children. after a while i would say what she hasm if they questioned it, id tell them to research it.

its a learning curve and after a while you will know in yourself you are doing the right things with your child dont worry about other people.

Thanks Zoe. I looked at the blog it is very ineteresting. I have ordered 123 magic. 

Thanks for your reply above too. It really helps to know that other people have the same issues and feel the same way. 

I am constantly thinking I should be doing a better job. I often do the exit, as it removes us from that situation but often calms my son down straight away. 

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it. 

Vic

Hi Vicki

Oh that old chestnut of us being bad parents....it's sooo frustrating and annoying, isn't it?

I must admit, even after 5 years of dealing with it, I still sometimes find it difficult to explain to strangers how my son's autism impacts on his life and his ability to 'behave'. 

Best I've come up with is to say that he has autism and although he has a good IQ and language, he is still very disabled by his autism.  Then I might say that he doesnt have the thinking skills to be able to modify his responses in the same way as a non-autistic child....and that can sometimes look like he is being naughty or rude.  He isnt being either - he just isnt able to cope in social situations.

The worst is when they say 'well you shouldnt bring him out then' or stuff like that.

It's hard - especially when another parent is being aggressive about it :(

Sometimes it's best just to cut and run if it's all going pear-shaped!  We can only do our best.  At the end of the day, if someone is having a go, it's their ignorance and prejudice that makes them in the wrong, not us.  Thinking of that helps me to remain sane if I do have to make a hasty exit!

Zoe

Thank you both. It definitely helps. My son has behavioural issues and I seem to be able to cope with them really well when we are on our own, but other people including my husband seem to have real problem understanding that he doesn't see things the same way eveyone else does. Have either of you found a good way to explain to other people?

I'm sure most people I know just think oh she is a rubbish parent and the autism is a good label to hide behind.  

I will look at the blog. I am happy to take any advice given 

Hi Vicki

I have a child at the so-called ‘higher functioning’ end of the spectrum and my view is that so-called ‘higher functioning’ simply means that a child/adult has autism but is verbal (has language) and has a decent IQ  (children/adults with an IQ of less than 75 are given the label of having learning difficulties) as opposed to the people at the other end of the spectrum (often called 'lower-functioning') who generally have lower IQs and often do not have language.

Other than that, the autism is the same.  Some people may appear to be better functioning than others but usually this is because they have developed compensatory coping strategies that mask the impact of the autism to anyone but the person who really understands the impact of the autism.

As I said this is just my view and there’s nothing scientific about it but as you can see from Kester’s post, autism can still have a huge impact on quality of life and life chances even when someone is from the non-learning difficulty (LD) end of the spectrum (thank you Kester for that honest and open response).

Research shows that the vast majority of people from the non-LD end of the spectrum will still have difficulties with social understanding, making and maintaining friendships and relationships, holding down meaningful employment and living independently.

I am writing a blog on how parents can help their kids overcome their rigid thinking, difficulties with social interaction and social understanding:  http://notnigellanotjamie.blogspot.com – might be worth a look. 

Hope that helps to explain things a bit more

Zoe

Sounds like my son. He is 5, started school in September. Considered by the school to be high functioning and he is really excelling at school but we do still have behavioural issues to deal with but the school have been fantastic with him and haven't disciplined him for the worse behaviour (throwing chairs, hurting people etc), they have taken a different approach to try and help him understand.

Thanks Jo27 that helps. He is doing really well at the moment just started full time school and seems to be blossoming. I did think that it was probably the case that it differs for everyone but wasn't sure if there were certain things or not. I hope i am making sense. 

Thanks 

No problem about moving it, wasn't sure where to put it. 

Thanks 

Hi VickiE4

Just to let you know I've moved this discussion into the area for diagnosis and out of the general discussions. I hope you don't mind, we've left a redirect in place where the discussion originally was.

Practically rather than diagnostically it means he will still have issues with the social world i.e. interacting and communicating, understanding what other youngsters know instinctively about other people and social situations.  You may need to teach him social rules more specifically as he won't just pick them up.  He might be less flexible in his thinking - if things go wrong he may not be able to just change tack like his peers.  It's really a question of degree of effect day to day - a bit like how bad is a cold, for some it's mild for others it's heavy but at the end of the day it's still a cold!  Ask about an EarlyBird Plus programme in your area, they are great if you can get on one.  Don't worry too much about the future just look at where he is now and the next few steps - good luck:-)

Hi I wa diagnosed with aspergers in 2007 i am 43 I also have 6 children four are on the spectrum

I have one pdd/nos two aspies and calssic autism

Original diagnosis in the 1950s of infantile autism (this is way before Wing and the Cambridge Research or Tony Attwood).

I drowned at 4 but was pulled out and resuscitated; from age 5 until 10 I was sexually abused by a friend of my parents.

I'm a time served stone mason who joined the army and served 12 years; injured during service and immune system went into overdrive and got arthritis.

Left army, owned a couple of sole trader businesses and then had a major nervous breakdown and in Bexley for 3 years and another 3 at halfway house, while there started and ran a co-operative of house cleaners.

Then worked as a bus conductor to overcome a fear of travelling, then an operator in a computer control room, a steel machinist, tool maker and fitter, been a carer.

Another sole trader business and then declared unemployable so I founded and ran a charitable company.

Had any number of relationships with women, mostly they break down because I have nil social skills; have been married for 11 years but ended in divorce with my autism cited as the cause.

In 2003 I was diagnosed as being HFA and Asperger's Syndrome - for me it is a very complex thing and I find the world of neurotypicals to be completely baffling and I go from one minor disaster to the next.

However after 57 years I have a rhino hide and I just go my way and the rest of the world can come along if it wants to or not. Grin.

if you are going strictly by the DSM or ICD there is no such diagnosis as HFA or LFA. Just autism, Asperger, childhood disintegrative disorder, PDD-NOS, and Rett's.

High-functioning autism (HFA) is an informal term applied to  people who are deemed to be "higher functioning" than other autistic people, by one or more metrics. There is no consensus as to the definition.HFA is not yet a recognised diagnosis in the DSM or the ICD-10

high functioning" is a clinical term, commonly used, to describe those at the milder end of the autism spectrum who have had speech issues

The amount of overlap between HFA and aspergers is disputed. Some researchers argue that the two are distinct diagnostic entities, others argue that they are indistinguishable.

There are many people on the spectrum myself included who have got married had children and do well,but there will be others like my youngest who will always need support.