What do the ASD levels mean?

[Phanelope]

I’ve only recently heard people talking about ASD level 1 or level 2 etc. and I’m still really confused by what people mean when they say high functioning autism. Is high functioning the same as Aspergers? I’m so confused.

 

[Judge]

What is (or isn't ) high functioning autism? For one thing it is not a formal technical term within the medical community. You'll find that it means different things to different people.

As a consequence, you're right. It is confusing.

https://www.appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org/what-is-high-functioning-autism/


In the US, the DSM-V formally abandoned the term "Asperger's Syndrome" in May of 2013, replacing it with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) which has three official "levels of support":

https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-are-the-three-levels-of-autism-260233

Though don't be surprised if you meet people here formally diagnosed in the US prior to 2013 who prefer to refer to their condition as "Asperger's Syndrome".

 

[SusanLR]

I find the levels confusing and the actions vague.
Had plans to speak with my therapist on this next time.
Don't know where I fall in the levels as some things listed I would fall into one level
and other things another level.

 

[Ezra]

Aspergers and high functioning are the same Level 1ASD.

I have level 2 moderate autism. Which means I'm very autistic. There's no hiding or masking it or much chance of it going undiagnosed in very early childhood. Mainly it has to do with me needing significant support in everyday life.

I started out level 3 severe which meant I was totally nonverbal and did not respond to others and needed substantial support. After I turned 8 years old I started coming around more.

Basically if you're anything other than level 1, you know it. You have been fully diagnosed as such. I have known it my whole life and have had to have a lot of occupational therapy and in and out of clinics all the time. Lots of testing. Special ed etc.

 

[AloneNotLonely]

Asperger's is simply a very specific case of Autism separate from HFA. HFA is just a label applied based on nothing more than IQ. Very Autistic people can still be HFA despite needing a lot of support, although they are never seen as such by the general public. In general non-HFA are most likely Autistic people that also have a learning disability along with it. Which is a separate additional diagnosis in addition to Autism.

The levels of Autism is not really a diagnosis. It's more to decide the kind of support the person in question needs. Ezra went from 3 to 2, I went from 2 to 1. A diagnosis for a developmental disorder can't change, but the support required can.

 

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

Aspergers and high functioning are the same Level 1ASD.

I have level 2 moderate autism. Which means I'm very autistic. There's no hiding or masking it or much chance of it going undiagnosed in very early childhood. Mainly it has to do with me needing significant support in everyday life.

I started out level 3 severe which meant I was totally nonverbal and did not respond to others and needed substantial support. After I turned 8 years old I started coming around more.

Basically if you're anything other than level 1, you know it. You have been fully diagnosed as such. I have known it my whole life and have had to have a lot of occupational therapy and in and out of clinics all the time. Lots of testing. Special ed etc.

I'll probably never get a diagnosis, but at least I know what level I am currently. Right now, I could be ASD1, but when I was little, I was probably ASD3. I know for sure that I was ASD2, though.

 

[Ezra]

I'll probably never get a diagnosis, but at least I know what level I am currently. Right now, I could be ASD1, but when I was little, I was probably ASD3. I know for sure that I was ASD2, though.

Maybe. But when a child is level 2 and especially 3, they appear to have something significantly wrong with them. Usually something, if not autism, was diagnosed such as brain damaged or mentally retarded.

 

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

Basically, all i had shown as a child was stuff like hitting my head, not wanting to be touched by people and certain objects, just certain textures I couldn't touch. According to my family members, i had to undergo speech therapy to speak when i was a toddler, so i was late in learning to speak. That's all I know. I don't think i asked th everything cause i don't rember (i have short memory). I didn't have sensitivity to hearing until I finally opened up which was 4 years ago. I still suffer from sensitive hearing, and I also have a srnsitivity to certain smells and textures.

 

[Phanelope]

I was diagnosed with level 1, which as an adult, won’t qualify me for any support. So looks like I may be forced to depend upon my husband for my survival forever.