high functioning, mild, severe etc.

Page 1 of 2 [ 22 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

KristenNoel
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 19 Apr 2012
Gender: Female
Posts: 13

11 May 2012, 8:11 pm

My daughter is three years old and some people think she is more high functioning and others would disagree. I was told it was because the people who say high function are people that have worked with her a long time and have learned her ways of communicating, but to someone who doesn't know her it is a completely different story. They don't know that she says "what sound does a dolphin make?" over and over again because she is upset..or that she needs big bear hugs while you make animal noises in her ear to help regulate her.

It doesn't really matter to me, but I don't quite know what to say if a family member asks..I just say she is too young to really know, but she is doing well..



Rax
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 15 Nov 2011
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Posts: 226

12 May 2012, 6:21 am

ok... Can we please have a question or something to say in response to?

And on a side note, it must of been an interesting time learning that you need to make animal noises.


_________________
You laugh because I am different, I laugh because you're all the same.


BuyerBeware
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Sep 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,476
Location: PA, USA

12 May 2012, 6:40 am

Well, Lord-- Something's always easier and better and more on-track if you know how to deal with it...

...and terrible and difficult and completely messed-up if you don't.

Others COULD say, "I'm not familiar with this individual child; I haven't had time to learn and I'm not sure how to deal with her. In time, we will learn to function."

But it's easier, more comfortable, more self-gratifying to say, "She doesn't work in the way I'm familiar with. She's low-functioning."

Homo sapiens. Sapiens?? Really?? Are we sure about that??


_________________
"Alas, our dried voices when we whisper together are quiet and meaningless, as wind in dry grass, or rats' feet over broken glass in our dry cellar." --TS Eliot, "The Hollow Men"


momsparky
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jul 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,772

12 May 2012, 6:49 am

I have trouble with all these labels on a good day; I don't think they have a lot of meaning, and I don't think they are pertinent in a very young child. After all, are NT three-year-olds high-functioning? They need help dressing, eating, some wear diapers, some don't talk well, etc. The problem with an exclusively relative label is that it doesn't take into account the wide range of "normal" behavior and the highs and lows in any individual child.

However, what the people who are working with her might mean, rather than "high functioning in the moment," or "high functioning in general", is that she's got a lot of potential to communicate and grow that people who don't work with her might not see.

I think the answer you are giving is fine.



MMJMOM
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 May 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 750

12 May 2012, 9:44 am

perfect answer yu have to family members. She is so young....time will tell! But it sounds like she has a receptive and caring mom to guide her :)


_________________
Dara, mom to my beautiful kids:
J- 8, diagnosed Aspergers and ADHD possible learning disability due to porcessing speed, born with a cleft lip and palate.
M- 5
M-, who would be 6 1/2, my forever angel baby
E- 1 year old!! !


ASDMommyASDKid
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 27 Oct 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,666

13 May 2012, 2:50 am

I think a lot of it is that the spectrum diagnosis is such an umbrella term and who knows how many different neurological issues it includes, and it is incredibly unsatisfying emotionally to not know anything more specific. It took me, as a parent, longer than it should have to accept that.

I would assume that if you have extended family or friends that are aware of a diagnosis, that they also want a more complete definition and tend to ask questions that attempt to narrow it down (high functioning, Asperger's, classic etc.) I have a few narrowing words (like hyperlexic) that are in my tool box that I use at school, when describing particular things to teachers, but I have learned not to obsess over a real narrow classification.

Things morph over time, too. So I don't know how useful HFA/LFA is other than to give people a stereotype to associate with your child. Sometimes this is useful when making a particular point to someone about your child's abilities, but I mostly have to include a qualifying statement, or two, or three about the things that don't correspond to the stereotype.



MotherKnowsBest
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Nov 2009
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,196

13 May 2012, 3:24 am

I think people misunderstand what 'high functioning' and 'low functioning' mean. I think people mistakenly use it to describe the severity of behaviours which they observe. That is wrong. They have a very clear, distinct clinical meaning. 'High functioning' in clinical terms means an IQ of 70 or over (ie in the normal range). 'Low functioning' means an IQ below 70 (ie intellectual disability). So nothing at all to do with severity of autistic traits.



MMJMOM
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 May 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 750

13 May 2012, 6:03 am

See, I thought functioning level had to do with function...like self help skills. You can have an autistic savant whose IQ is in the 170s, but if they cannot dress themselves, nor can they prepare a simple meal or write a check to pay a bill, would that make them LOW functioning?
Or an individual with an ave IQ, but if they are so focused on stims that they cant get thru the day, or behavioral, etc...would that make them low functioning?

I wonder if there is any literature explaining specifically the functioning levels of autism, and what falls into each category of that function??

Very interesting.....


_________________
Dara, mom to my beautiful kids:
J- 8, diagnosed Aspergers and ADHD possible learning disability due to porcessing speed, born with a cleft lip and palate.
M- 5
M-, who would be 6 1/2, my forever angel baby
E- 1 year old!! !


momsparky
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jul 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,772

13 May 2012, 9:53 am

I think that's why there is so much difficulty with those terms - I've heard both used by professionals.

The problem with assessing function via IQ in someone with a communication disorder is that we have no way of knowing what we're measuring: is it their actual intelligence, or their ability to communicate it? (I suppose this could be said for many as regards IQ, not just people on the autism spectrum.)

The problem with assessing function via self-help skills is that there's a ridiculous range of possible abilities and disabilities within each individual, and so many of them can be overcome by compensating in some way: if you physically can't write, but you can use TTS, where does that put you? If you can't button, but you can put on t-shirts and elastic pants, where do you fit? Everybody is always telling me reassuringly how "high-functioning" DS is, but after four years of cooking lessons he can make only scrambled eggs on his own, and he has to be nearly mummified (earbuds, baseball cap, hoodie, sometimes winter coat with a hood) to see a movie in a theater. I am sure we will be able to build his skills (another issue not addressed by the label) - not sure how the movie thing is going to go as he develops - but given those issues, the "functioning" label seems to miss the point.

There are, of course, more extreme examples, but it's a frustrating conversation to have. When people tell me (in that reassuring tone of voice) "Oh, but he's very high functioning" I have learned to answer "Of course, yes - except when he's not."



DW_a_mom
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 22 Feb 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 13,683
Location: Northern California

13 May 2012, 10:50 am

RIght or wrong I've looked at the "average" bundle of worries and gifts with my child, thrown in how good I feel about his long term prognosis, and felt that the "very high functioning" the professionals tend to use is accurate.

I like the answer that it is too young to tell with child that hasn't even started school. You don't really have a handle on prognosis or IQ yet, and should just be working on the specific priorities. So much can change!

Many adults on this site also take issues with the terms, and if they have any real meaning at all. For me, it seems like a quick way to convey how challenging my child might be for the educators he works with, and a quick way to get adults to realize they don't have to worry about him, but beyond that, what does it really mean?


_________________
Mom to an amazing young adult AS son, plus an also amazing non-AS daughter. Most likely part of the "Broader Autism Phenotype" (some traits).


MotherKnowsBest
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Nov 2009
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,196

13 May 2012, 12:55 pm

MMJMOM wrote:
See, I thought functioning level had to do with function...like self help skills. You can have an autistic savant whose IQ is in the 170s, but if they cannot dress themselves, nor can they prepare a simple meal or write a check to pay a bill, would that make them LOW functioning?
Or an individual with an ave IQ, but if they are so focused on stims that they cant get thru the day, or behavioral, etc...would that make them low functioning?

I wonder if there is any literature explaining specifically the functioning levels of autism, and what falls into each category of that function??

Very interesting.....


That's what I always thought too. That it meant how well a person 'functions' on a daily basis. But it doesn't. I've just completed a 6 month course as part of my degree called Understanding The Autism Spectrum and they were very clear, in clinical terms it's purely down to IQ. So someone can be 'high functioning' but be severely incapacitated by autism. I have a feeling this may be a contributing factor to upcoming DSM changes because the correct medical term doesn't reflect the difficulties a person has.

This is the course if anyone is interested:
http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergradu ... /sk124.htm



OliveOilMom
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Nov 2011
Age: 59
Gender: Female
Posts: 11,447
Location: About 50 miles past the middle of nowhere

13 May 2012, 2:20 pm

I would point out that she's only three and you are waiting to see.


_________________
I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
My forum is still there and everyone is welcome to come join as well. There is a private women only subforum there if anyone is interested. Also, there is no CAPTCHA. ;-)

The link to the forum is http://www.rightplanet.proboards.com


MomofThree1975
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 13 Mar 2012
Gender: Female
Posts: 367
Location: NYC

13 May 2012, 2:52 pm

momsparky wrote:
The problem with assessing function via IQ in someone with a communication disorder is that we have no way of knowing what we're measuring: is it their actual intelligence, or their ability to communicate it? (I suppose this could be said for many as regards IQ, not just people on the autism spectrum.)
"


This is the issue with my son. He is 3 and has expressive and receptive delays and sometimes, it's really hard to know how much he understands. I think giving a child with communication delays an IQ test is pointless.



BuyerBeware
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Sep 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,476
Location: PA, USA

13 May 2012, 11:26 pm

Yeah, I think you're doing a good job of answering silly questions from people.

She IS too little to know where she'll end up. That's true of EVERY 3-year-old. You guys are figuring things out, so it IS going well.

Another good answer is, "Well, one day at a time." "Today's a pretty good day." "We're learning." "Hey-- maybe tomorrow."

That's always a good answer. Because, no matter what people think, that's LIFE. For everybody.

And-- most of the allegedly sapient don't really want a whole lot of information anyway. Just a thumbnail, right?? Dorks.


_________________
"Alas, our dried voices when we whisper together are quiet and meaningless, as wind in dry grass, or rats' feet over broken glass in our dry cellar." --TS Eliot, "The Hollow Men"


Wreck-Gar
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jun 2011
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,037
Location: USA

14 May 2012, 7:39 am

momsparky wrote:
I have trouble with all these labels on a good day; I don't think they have a lot of meaning, and I don't think they are pertinent in a very young child. After all, are NT three-year-olds high-functioning? They need help dressing, eating, some wear diapers, some don't talk well, etc. The problem with an exclusively relative label is that it doesn't take into account the wide range of "normal" behavior and the highs and lows in any individual child.

However, what the people who are working with her might mean, rather than "high functioning in the moment," or "high functioning in general", is that she's got a lot of potential to communicate and grow that people who don't work with her might not see.

I think the answer you are giving is fine.


I agree with this, really no point in using such a label for such a young child. I think a lot of times people use "high functioning" to mean "able to communicate verbally" and "low functioning" to mean "not able to communicate verbally."

Just because your kid has a speech delay does not mean she is "low functioning."



Wreck-Gar
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jun 2011
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,037
Location: USA

14 May 2012, 7:46 am

MMJMOM wrote:
See, I thought functioning level had to do with function...like self help skills. You can have an autistic savant whose IQ is in the 170s, but if they cannot dress themselves, nor can they prepare a simple meal or write a check to pay a bill, would that make them LOW functioning?
Or an individual with an ave IQ, but if they are so focused on stims that they cant get thru the day, or behavioral, etc...would that make them low functioning?


Well, if you want go with that definition, there are plenty of NT adults who probably qualify...