What makes a person high or low functning?

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I always thought the inability to speak was what made one be considered "low functning" but I could speak as a child and phycologists and phycatrists were always telling my parents that I was basicaly ret*d. I was very inteligent when it came to science and zoology and often times gobsmacked the zookeepers at the zoo with how much I knew (sometimes even more than them) but some phycologists told my parents to instutionalize me or that I was going to grow up to live in a group home. I could speak, but I really didn't have a voice in certian things like be commited at nine or trying to stand up for myself against bullies.

http://www.brighttots.com/Autism/Low_Functioning_Autism

this link has some information about it, tho im not sure how this applies to you

I think of it like an imbalance, such as when bipolar has highs/lows = mood swings, I've read a lot about mis-diagnosed people who have AS but were considered to be bipolar.

When I was at school it was a mix, some of the children hardly spoke at all, those who were LFA or profoundly autistic. I became more verbal and developed as I grew older but was never diagnosed until the late 90's simply because Asperger's wasn't identified as a condition when I was a child.

I don't know a lot about that, but I'm under the impression that it's an impressionistic thing, rather than specific criteria. And that it's questionable as to how useful it really is -- your case seems like one that shows that.

Do you remember having an IQ test? Maybe you did really badly on it for non-intelligence related reasons, and the psych wasn't smart enough to catch it. Also suggesting institutionalization for any autistic kid is really "old school." It used to be the standard thing to do decades ago (though I'm sure it still happens sometimes), but it's not supposed to be anymore.

That psych professional just sounds like she/he learned about autism in the distant past and never bothered to keep up. They used to believe that most autistics are ret*d, but later found that autistics can have trouble with normal IQ tests. So now they don't assume that most autistics are ret*d.


to see that that happen

And are you living in a group home today?

Anyway, what is "high functioning" and "low functioning" I guess would be dependent on what kind of society we are living in. The more competition, the more individuals are beaten out (revolving chairs).

Sometimes, I can't help but ask if it's the opinion of the doctor giving the Dx.

Last edited by CockneyRebel on 13 Oct 2010, 6:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

What really raises my aggravation level is how high/low functioning is measured in terms of behavioral absolutes. Because I have always been able to wipe my own ass and don't drool, I am high functioning. I have managed to bob and weave my way through life, but I have NEVER been fully engaged in the flow of this culture and my entire life has been dominated by actions whose sole purpose is to maintain some semblance of order - adaptions to a world that does not function in a manner that my brain understands. High/low functioning is measured by the wrong standards as far as I'm concerned. A good analogy is an 8 cylinder engine running on 6 cylinders. The car still moves. It might even make it from San Diego to New York. But it isn't functioning at full capacity.

The high/low functioning rubric is useless for describing magnitude of impairment because the amount of impairment is relative to an individual's intrinsic capacities.

I consider almost everyone here high-functioning. I have a lot of experience with low-functioning autism, and the level of social interaction required here self-selects for the high-functioning. Just being here requires you to initiate contact in a way those more severely affected just can't do.

I don't think verbal communication defines that, but yes, it is harder to function if you can't verbally communicate. It's only a piece of it though. It is really hard to accurately test the IQ of severe autistics because their level of interaction makes it hard to get results.

The doctor's opinion. That's all.

Seriously, HF/LF have no official definitions; they depend entirely on the way you are seen by whoever calls you high or low functioning. I have been called "low-functioning Asperger's", "relatively high-functioning considering her disability", and just plain "high-functioning" based on IQ. I've gotten GAF scores from 23 to the 70s and 80s. Considering that I pretty much stay the same as far as autistic traits go, that inconsistency should tell you how little functioning labels mean.

The IQ test came back 79 but I wasn't aware I had an IQ test until years later when I came across some papers about me when I was in the bobbie hatch at nine years old. This happened in the early and mid 90's. I personaly consider the 90's the dark ages.

No but I still live with my parents. If my parents were hard core curbies I'd probably be livng in a group home.

What is a 'hard core curbie'?

I scored low on IQ tests too and kids also thought I was ret*d. I had zero theory of mind and didn't understand sarcasm. I did echolalia. I was more self centered then and wanted everything my way. I didn't start reading about my obsessions until I was ten.

I look back and see myself as low functioning AS even though I wasn't a textbook case of it because I was no little professor or a walking encyclopedia but I was a big talker. Kids just thought I was mean and rude and selfish, spoiled. I just got zero sarcasm and didn't understand people nor any social skills or have any theory of mind. Even if they yell and scream at me, I still didn't get it. Then I would wonder why they didn't want me around. Plus I scored low on tests and looking in my report cards, I sound ret*d than smart because of all these check marks I got and what the teacher say about me in them. Kids also thought I was stupid.

I don't know what other kids thought about me but I didn't have any theroy of mind either and it took me forever to get sarcasm. I still have trouble with empathy and have to fake it most of the time. Just becuase I can pretend to be worried about someone's relative, it dosen't mean I actualy am. I usualy got As until third grade when I had a teacher who was evil itself. No one would listen to me about her being abusive and would tell me I was exgerating so I think I gave up trying to get people to realise I was being hurt. If your child says their teacher is mean or makes them feel bad....listen to them and investiagate. I can't say kids thought I was stupid becuase I was basicaly a walking zoology enclclopedia but perhaps I was seen as stupid becuase I was using terms a zoologist would use and to most little kids, I guess it would sound like gibberish. A lot of kids hated me becuase I was so smart about animals and would even talk about things like setting kittens on fire just to upset me.

I knew what kids thought of me because they told me I was stupid or ret*d or mean or rude or spoiled and they even talked behind my back too so I heard what they said about me.

Now today I am not so sure anymore because grown ups keep those things to themselves while kids are direct and more honest. So those questions on the RDOS test like "people think I am aloof and distance" uh how should I know? To me it's inaccurate unless we just assume that's what they think of us or a few people had the guts to say it to our faces so we answer yes to that.

In my country, one quarter of all individuals between age 18 and 28 are living with their parents. The reason is very simple - there are no apartments around, at least none which students or youths could afford to rent. In some cases, its so bad you have to pay 200 000$ to be able to rent a flat.

As long as you are studying or planning to study, there's nothing wrong with that. If you find going to school too hard, I'm sure there distance courses somewhere.

Nothing is ever a real disaster unless you have a plan on how to get out of such a situation.