What is the difference between Aspergers and High Functioning Autism?

[Sarah S]

value[/I] as a person does not change according to your severity level, just how much support you are likely to need.

Amen to that. We all know what levels etc... i am on (its clearly in my profile and signature) and yet im JUST as much worth as a human being as everyone else. and the same goes for all of us with any kind of NP diagnosis (with or without co morbids etc... And levels)

Furthermore, reg the levels and how much " suport " you may need in life all depends also how you youre self-manage to adapt to youre diagnosis (incl co morbids) I myself needed and had an army of specialists / docs etc.... My dear mother etc.... Behind me as a child and after that still had my mother etc... behind me as an adult. And even today yes i have suport behind me for when and what i need help with BUT im still relatively independent regardless of my diagnosis and levels and gazillion co morbids.

What im trying to say here is as i have said numerous times in multiple discussions in here reg this levels discussion is that all NP diagnosis and how they present them self-etc... Is highly individual so we can't compare ourselves according to said levels / age / possible Comorbid/gender etc...

If i were to go by said levels etc... I wouldn't have been able to have a former Worklife / not live alone and do all the chores etc... (Incl financial responsibility) / have drivers licences (incl for trucks (big riggs) and semi-trailers etc... And i would definitely not be able to participate in this kind of discussions in here either. But yet here i am.

 

[Sarah S]

Reg said question

High-functioning autism - Wikipedia

Quote High-functioning autism (HFA) is an autism classification where a person exhibits no intellectual disability, but may exhibit deficits in communication, emotion recognition and expression, and social interaction.

Low functioning autism

Low-functioning autism - Wikipedia

Low-functioning autism (LFA) is autism with low functioning levels. Symptoms may include impaired social communications or interactions, bizarre behavior, and lack of social or emotional reciprocity. Sleep problems, aggressiveness, and self-injurious behavior are also possible consequences. LFA is not a recognized diagnosis in the DSM-5 or ICD-10, neither of which subdivides autism based on intellectual capabilities. End Quote

 

[Luca]

I was diagnosed with Aspergers as a child, but I’m now described as “high functioning,” which I guess would be ASD1…
My therapist doesn’t think I’m autistic necessarily and seems to think I’m like this because of mental illness and trauma. I disagree. I think I’m definitely autistic.

I don’t think I’m as intelligent or even as high-functioning as other people with my diagnosis, and I have a weird paradox of being able to live independently with a bit of support, and take care of multiple animals and have a job as a dog walker, while at the same time being profoundly emotionally and socially immature

So I’m able to function day-to-day at an age-appropriate level, and I’m well-read and well-educated, yet my social interactions and most of my interests are what you’d probably normally see with a 10-year-old little girl.

I don’t know if I’m explaining this properly

For example, I can cook meals, take care of my home, live by myself, and have extremely high-level proficiency skills at training dogs. Most of my dogs are obedience champions.

But on the other hand, I like doing things that a much younger person, or a kid, might do.
I also don’t take myself seriously at all and I have a tendency to be blindly optimistic and oversimplify everything and retain a childlike sense of wonder about things that I enjoy.

But I don’t care about functioning labels. I care about being able to do what I’m capable of doing on my own and getting help with things that are hard for me.
And I refuse to fully grow up Life is short. Make the best of it.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I'm retired , do not need support big gest issue's some times I use my own way to describe things need my wife to interprete. Example when I had stroke told doctor's my foot and heel in particular was frozen, We have cold winters up hear and the feeling was similar to how it feels when toy foot is so cold it has lost feeling. I was being very descriptive, causing a great deal of confusion with the Doctors and nurses. Got more confusing as I told them over time it was thawings out. and slightly painful as it was doing so. I like to use analogy. they like proper medical terms. What is straight forward to me is confusing to them. What will happen years from now when I age and require assistance. Like the one therapist told me we ask you a question. you come up with an answer. which is correct just not something they would have remotely thought of. multiple choice question with four typical answers, gets a fifth response an NT would never have considered as a answer.

 

[Pats]

Hello everyone. I just got diagnosed with High Functioning autism with no cognitive and no language impairments. I asked him why he didn't diagnose me as aspergers. He told me that I am aspergers, but the term is no longer used. So now, I'm in the autism spectrum, but I'm high functioning. My psychologist told me that Aspergers isn't a word that's used because it's fallen out of date. What do you think? Is High Functioning Autism the same as Asperger's syndrome? Are High Functioning Autists just as smart as Aspergers? Or is one smarter than the other?

My psychologist told me that I'm very articulate and smart, which is why he classified me as high functioning. What I'm trying to ask is, am I okay if I'm high functioning Autism?

You're fine!

 

[rach3rd]

You are uniquely you. There is a saying in our community, "If you have met one autistic person you have met one autistic person". Autism isn't really about intelligence or high/low functioning labels which are not helpful: Autism Functioning Labels. If you are managing life ok, that's great! That means you have low support needs right now. That might not always be the case and can fluctuate from day to day. Autism often comes with other issues which can make life difficult for many of us: Conditions comorbid to autism spectrum disorders - Wikipedia.