To all the high functioners

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What exactly makes one high functioning? I manage somehow to get through my days, some more successfully than others. I generally appear calm on the outside but am a total disaster in my mind.
I am however able to read most non verbal cues.

That's a good question. I assumed the OP was saying those of us that give advice are 'higher functioning'. Honestly, I don't know what my functional level is but it's probably lower than most here think.

I get advice when I need advice and I give advice when I can give it. I learn what I can about myself through others, and try to teach others what I can through myself. I relate and feel less alone. I relate and enjoy who I am.

And seriously, its hard to avoid WP when you have a special interest in ASDs .

One thing you do need to note is that high functioning doesn't mean mild - there is a whole lot I can get in terms of help despite the fact that I'm high functioning. I'm one of those cases where I'm actually dealing with a rather solidly more severe case than my functioning level suggests.

Giving advice to someone else and taking your own advice are different things. Taking advice is harder than giving it.


I like it here. People are usually accepting. Nobody cares if you're weird.

Sometimes I want to give advice, sometimes I want to get advice (although I usually do this by reading threads other people have started, instead of asking for myself), sometimes I want to argue, sometimes I want to hear that it's ok to be weird, sometimes I'm just bored.


Yep. I generally try to follow it, because it's generally good advice, but that's easier said than done.

Here's what I've consistently noticed, both as a special education teacher during my brief "career" and as an adult with Aspergers:

People on the spectrum tend to be very articulate and prolific communicators via writing. When we are writing, gone is the body language and all the social hangups that create obstacles for us. Writing is a straight shot to the brain. The words flow more easily and are much less guarded. Hence how incredibly active this online community has become.

i am not a high-functioning type, at least compared with bill gates or the folks on PP&R or the adult forums, but still i'm here because i can finally [virtually] be with people who are more similar to me and [more importantly] less dissimilar to me. i am not an outlier here on WP. i belong here. i can do a bit of effective good here, and am less inept here than in the outer world. WP saved my life.

the problem for me isn't the person i'm trying to communicate with, i got most of the basics down, except for keeping a conversation going, including eye contact and the works.
however, enter the 'environment', there is so much going on usually, overloading my senses to a point where i can no longer concentrate on the conversation without melting down to the environmental inputs...

I can maintain eye contact. The main problem is that I often forget to. By default I don't look at people when I talk to them and it needs conscious effort to realise I'm doing it. So I usually remember in certain situations, such as job interviews, but may well be unintentionally insulting people the rest of the time!

One might imagine that just because one has advice for how a situation is presented by a poster, that doesn't mean that the person giving the advice is in a similar situation, and can therefore take advantage of said advice.

For my particular position? I'm not in a relationship of any sort because I don't make the appropriate time for it.

If someone were to come along that makes me *make* the time, well, then I'm just as screwed as anyone else here might be Unless it happens, well, here I am alone.

For a start, I'm not that high functioning. My high functioning is an "act". Even fully medicated, I had a major meltdown tonight because I can't cope with adult life.

But I offer advice here because it helps people. Whether I take my own advice or not does not matter. I would if I had the will power to.

I try to offer advice in here based on my own experiences with the opposite sex, and giving them a women's perspective on why women do "this and that".

I appear high functioning but I just had a "bursting into tears" meltdown for almost no reason while on vacation. I also can't drive or find a job but the same can be said for a lot of NTs. I just like spending time here and trying to help people. I am not a sage by any means.

i am here to research aspie weakness because its easier to see in others. and to try and find those weaknesses in myself and try to change or make allowances for them so I am a happier person.

I'm a lot better at giving advice than following my own advice.

Thank you for the clarification. I haven't a clue what my functional level is either. I have my strengths and weaknesses. As someone previously posted, it's much easier to communicate online. When you can sit and write (or type) something out, there is no pressure so spit it out. You can take all the time needed to get your thoughts in order. Also I think many of us, "high functioning" or not are quite able to give good advice based on their experiences, living with a lot of the same obstacles or behaviors.

same here. "inappropriate" is exactly the word I would use too. when people stare at me, even while talking to me, I can help but think that they're being rude.



for me, it was Buddhist philosophy. I now have a lot less than I had when I first started studying it, but I no longer care/am happy with it. I'm sure the society considers me a failure, but if you measure your success in life with the acceptance of other people, I doubt you can be truly happy.

as to the OP, yeah I contradict myself a lot. I have a lot of theoretical knowledge but I fail to put it into practice, for obvious reasons. I try not to give "advice" here though, but more to point to the options that posters here have.

Everyone considers me to be engaging, high-functioning, talkative, etc. I have largely succeeded in practicing what I preach.
However, I'm still paddling in the kiddie pool so to speak, and here's why:
Mostly, I find supposedly NT behavior to be immoral and coercive, and I am not ready to allow myself to be that way because of my Christian upbringing.
Also undiagnosed PTSD mixed with being afraid to take drugs.
Also chronic fatigue and temporary muscle weakness.
Also I drive like a crazy person.
Also an immune disorder making it easy for me to get sick.


How am I even still alive????