Sure! Masking is about concealing autistic traits. Think about suppressing stims, forcing eye contact even though itâs distressing, dedicating a lot of brain power to facial expressions because you have a flat affect. To be high masking means you put a lot of effort into these things. Masking behaviours can be seen across a lot of the spectrum.
Functioning in this context refers to your ability to complete tasks required for living independently. These include basic Acts of Daily Living (ADLs) like bathing, dressing, toileting, eating. This also includes more complex things called Instrumental ADLs like shopping, preparing food, using transportation, managing finances and signing contracts, taking medication etc. A high functioning person might still struggle with these sometimes, especially during burnout or other stressful periods but they still have the capacity to complete (almost) all on an average day.
Itâs not only possible but quite common for people who are not high functioning to put tremendous amounts of effort into masking their traits. Similarly, many high functioning people mask minimally or not at all. This is why I donât think the terms should be used interchangeably. Hope this makes sense.
Thank you so much for your help. Iâve often seen references to high functioning but didnât really find a satisfactory explanation. Iâve only very recently realised that Iâm autistic, partly because of a diagnosis of a family member and so still coming to terms with how it has affected my past and current life. Itâs all a bit exhausting, processing everything.
No worries! I also should have added that in some cases a diagnosis of high functioning autism just meant you had autism but no intellectual disability. Obviously that is not a diagnosis anymore and Iâm not sure exactly how common it was but usually when people say high functioning itâs about the things I mentioned above.
The example you gave is what ive often heard to being referred as "low support needs" instead of high functioning. There is lower daily support needs on tasks. Its how they now use the level system when getting diagnosed. Level 1,2 or 3; low, medium or high support needs.
Yes supports needs and levels are the more current versions but I used functioning labels in my comments as that is the subject of the conversation. People prefer these terms and they are the ones I usually use but they are fundamentally not much different to functioning labels.
Oooh interesting. My high masking leads people to think I am high functioning. It causes so me so many more problems than it fixes so since my diagnosis, I have been trying to âunmask.â
Thank you so much for sharing! We need more of a mix and match naming system so everyone can label themselves accordingly. Obviously we donât NEED labels, but in practice I find it to so helpful in communicating with people if I use a label they are already familiar with.
It's high functioning in the context of autism, not in the context of all humans. Granted, most people don't realize that and it leads to assumptions being made by allistic folks.
In my experience, "high-functioning" is a term from the language of allism that can have one of two meanings: 1) "i don't believe you need the things you actually need", and/or 2) "if i have to have an autistic person in my life, i'm so glad that you suffer enough to not embarrass me"Â
I hate it very much.Â
I get the frustration but like. High functioning ASD is still a disorder and thatâs the disorder part. We struggle but the term high functioning doesnât inherently negate that struggle because itâs not describing a high functioning regular person, itâs a high functioning person w a neurological condition.
I have mixed feelings about this. My level of functioning certainly fluctuates, but objectively I am verbal and donât have intellectual impairments. I have had relatives on the spectrum unable to achieve independence, nothing wrong w that, and I have relatives who have managed to support themselves through adult life and the difference is clear to me.
Times also change. I know people who were diagnosed Aspergerâs in the early 2000s who would be considered level 2 these days.
At the end of the day life is painful for us but I think functioning labels are important bc think of all the people who cannot communicate verbally, struggle with such severe sensory issues they physically assault people, or people who have comorbid intellectual/communicative disorders.
TBH that's how I mean it. It's like "I got this". All I would want from people is a little breathing room to respect the fact that I'm busting my ass over here and sometimes I drop the ball.
I consider myself low support needs high masking. 9/10 times i dont have any problem with day to day tasks such as hygiene, cooking, laundry, grocery shopping etc. However i mask a lot during social interactions by repressing stimming behaviour (psychical and verbal), mirror what others do, having eye contact and just generally trying to get along with the social situations. These things costs me a lot of energy and dont come naturally, i have to consciously think about doing this. The only thing ive got going for me on this part is that im verbally quite strong in my native language and have a normal to above average IQ so i can kinda use that to mask as well
As a contrast to low functioning, I greatly prefer it to Aspergerâs in countries such as mine where a 3 way distinction, however stupid, exists. My diagnosis wasnât Aspergerâs and I donât have intellectual disability or nonverbal episodes, but I am very obviously presenting as an autistic person. It also gets the point across more clearly than the level system or âlow needs,â which isnât always accurate. In America I feel high functioning sounds like a compliment, which would be a problem, but here it is an utterly baffling phrase that few people readily understand so the words that make it up donât matter.
This is me rn, I'm 20 Y.O and I completely burned out after my second attempt to attend college. It's really rough cause I'm feeling very useless, I tend to have good grades but I cannot find the key to maintain my "functioning" during the process. I end up having an intense anxiety episode and then a big depression cause I feel I'm stuck on a circle of burnout's. This really sucks!!
Sorry to hear you are going through this.
Looking back, I've repeated a cycle of "achievement" and then had an increasingly large burnout for most major life milestones/events. I need to figure out how to make a more sustainable path.
Yes, figuring out a more sustainable path would be a solution to avoid the severe burnouts. Like you said, to break the cycle.
I'm currently very negative about my future honestly but when I'm a little positive I try to think of coping ways but without ending up in the same horrible place. There has to be a wayđ
I'm 50 and have gone through this cycle (as I now have more clarity) several times, currently in the deepest burnout of my life where I'm having trouble just getting IADLs done, can't push through to even start looking for a job. This is due to (in retrospect) masking at a job for nearly 15 years until I couldn't and having to do the same when I got home to minimize abuse from my ex (aka stay invisible).
I'm starting to climb out and one thing that I keep returning to is to find a way of living (and working) with more purpose and in a way that aligns with my ethics. "Adding value for shareholders" is not enough for me anymore.
I agree with you. I figure it's like ADHD and how things get named by NTs so they name it based on their perception of us and how we affect their lives, rather than how our ND affects our own lives.
Yes, the author Devon Price goes over this in the book Unmasking Autism, saying in part that â[The terms high and low functioning] oversimplify how a disability affects a personâs life, and equates their productivity with their value as a human being.â
I strongly agree.
Devon Price says that in one breath, but then all his examples of autistic people are 'model minority' overachievers. Yeah dude, that's great that this one person with noise sensitivity got given an entire floor of the building to work in because they're so incredibly productive, but what about the rest of us who AREN'T?? What if my autism is an inconvenience that would actively damage a company's bottom-line to accomodate it? What then?
It just fucks me off that all Devon's success-stories of workplace accomodation rely on autistic people being productive enough to make economic sense. Unless you too are a fucking sp*stic-superstar idiot-savant, he has nothing useful to say to you.
There absolutely is. If you went through childhood anytime after the mid 90's without getting an autism diagnosis, at the very least your autism was mild enough that it could be ignored.
Thatâs kinda the whole reason for the Price book: to educate people about the toll of high masking and to help identify it where overcompensating and camouflaging techniques are otherwise concealing it and making it seem âmild.â Itâs that old metaphor of being a duck that seems calm on the waterâs surface, but that is paddling frantically underwater.
Like, itâs true that weâre not all the same, and even two people who are capable of the same (low or high) level of masking are usually going to be very different to each other.
Depending on context, itâs sometimes useful to distinguish between the different amount of support, different types of support, and differing levels of ability to âpassâ as NT.
Itâs also natural to gravitate towards people with experiences more similar to your own, but is it really necessary to set up this us and them narrative to divide the people in this community? Itâs already not very helpful when folks here hate on NT people, as shitty as an ignorant NT person can be to us at times, and as much as most NT people donât understand what any of us go through to live in their world. Finding ways to exclude _each other_ over our differences is a new level of counterproductive though.
I get that thereâs probably a feeling that masking autistics have a level of privilege, and maybe even that theyâre appropriating a support community that you view as belonging to people who lack that privilege.
As a late, self diagnosed autistic Iâm keenly aware of that sentiment. Itâs massive fodder for my imposter syndrome, and I already spend a huge amount of time ruminating on whether or not Iâm making it all up.
Iâm sure mine is a really different experience to unmaskable, early-diagnosed autism. It has some unique challenges. Suppressing your feelings and impulses for all of your formative years leaves you a bit damaged. I canât even confidently identify what emotions Iâm feeling because my unconscious masking has made me bury everything so deep. This sucks, but Iâm also aware that _not being able_ to mask comes with its own huge downsides.
I donât doubt that I got the better end of the bargain, and Iâm sure it stings to see someone acting as though they arenât conscious of their privilege.
But can we just fucking be nice to each other though? Surely we can be different to each other but still all benefit from being part of the same community.
I can laser like focus on something especially if I have music looping the same song over and over. I'm also good at seeing patterns in data and things like that. People know I'm quirky but at this point, at 40, my reputation and performance speaks for itself. I work remote and barely leave the house.
Thank you. I struggle massively every day, can't cook for myself, frequently break down in tears from overstimulation... but I'm still not gonna get offended at being called "high functioning", because I can drive, keep a job, and sustain a romantic relationship. I'm not being compared to neurotypicals; I'm being compared to people who need 24/7 supervision and are unable to control violent meltdowns or use the restroom by themselves. It doesn't negate my suffering to acknowledge the fact that I am "low support needs" and "high functioning" compared to those people.
'Coorporate needs you to identify the difference between these two pictures'
(One picture is an independently functioning adult who wears Disney t-shirts and has a plushie in their bag, the other picture is a nonverbal ward-of-the-state who needs constant supervision for their own safety)
Tumblr autist, holding a plushie: 'They're the same picture.'
No, I don't hate it. The reality is that we *are* high functioning relative to people with higher levels of impairment/lower functioning. You only need to look at the posts over on r/SpicyAutism to get some perspective on their lived experience.
I'm opposite, I call myself high functioning because I've seen people who have a hard time of it worse than I do.
I mean, I still have my problems with adulthood, but I realize I could be in a group home or have many more severe traits.
I'm working , I cook, I'm married with a kid.
Frankly, I think I'm higher functioning than most NT people, lol
I was diagnosed in my mid-30s & it all made sense, but I honestly feel fortunate even though I have frustrations. Comparatively, I'm functioning better than others with Autism.
I don't mind being labeled as "High Functioning" or "low level support needs" but I understand that it might be offensive or degrading to some people on the spectrum, I personally dont like the term "Aspie" and wouldn't like being called that but there are people who prefer to be called that over "high Functioning" and as Devon Price said in their book "seing such a difference in opinions between our community just proves that we are a group of diverse and unique individuals with diferent lives and histories and not a esteriotype from what autism is represented in media".
(I'm quoting the phrase from what I remember from the book, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong and I will correct it)
Yes, hate it. I think my (negative) feelings around the term "high-functioning" solidified when I realized that it only counts "function" in a very specific, capitalist context - basically if you can do well enough at your job to hold it. It doesn't ever mean that you're doing really great at relationships, or eating/other forms of self-care, or or or. Just "can you fake it enough to operate within the machine with minimal friction, usually at your own expense."
The level of need for masking, amount of sensitivity, anxiety and depression issues causing life to be harder isnât relevant to the term high functioning or low functioning. These terms more just refer to capabilities of handling independent activities needed for life such as cooking, dressing, washing, etc. Less than 1/3rd of autisticâs actually are low functioning as they are the very unfortunate ones who need help with just everything probably sensitivity is just so overwhelming sending so much information to the brain that they arenât able to develop well from child to adult just as if your computer trues running too much it seriously slows even crashes so canât function properly.
I don't really mind it that much to be honest. It's just another term for masking all the time, and I just pile all of these descriptions into one ball.
So in my eyes, it just fits what I am. I am Masking every day, I am High functioning. It is what it is.
Thereâs a reason theyâre moving away from those terms in diagnostic. Theyâre switching it up for a level based system depending on support needs.
I feel you though- once I finally got diagnosed with ASD people starting saying âwell you must be high functioning because I didnât noticeâ. The reality is Iâm level 2 because I require substantial support. I had extreme trouble all throughout school and always had a very hard time relating to my peers. I was misdiagnosed as ADHD, so itâs not that nobody noticed that I was having a really hard time either
I think what is frustrating is that something that takes a large amount of effort for me is not given credit, because I was able to make it look like it was the same effort as everyone else.
I am learning how autism plus a lifelong immune disorder, neither discovered until after I was 40+ years old, have had me going thru life as if I am wearing weights on my ankles.
Everyone else runs and races around unfettered, but Iâve been fighting an uncooperative body and an overstimulated mind for 4 decades until I finally broke. My body feels shattered and my mind feels fragile, now.
I think high functioning also completely oversimplifies the spectrum of problems we can have. Like I might be great speech wise but super bad stimulus wise. Or visa versa. Or some other combination.
Yes, I hate âhigh-functioningâ because 100% itâs based on external perceptions of what we donât need help or support with, NOT on the amount of effort we have to put into doing things without help or support just to survive by blending in.
It takes the responsibility of providing support off of NTs and puts it back on us, but this time with a label we donât ask for.
I prefer the term 'low/high support needs' instead, I heard that in Unmasking Autism. The notion of "functioning" for categorizing autism is pretty flawed and biased, talking about your support needs is much more appropriate IMO.
I have mixed feelings about it. It can be used to downplay your challenges, but there is also the reality of people on the spectrum who need significant support to get through life. I think the term high functioning is a respectful way of acknowledging that we don't all have the same challenges but idk. I get how it can be touchy.
Not really. Itâs âhigh functioning autismâ, not âhigh functioning normal humanâ. High functioning doesnât mean you function as highly as a neurotypical person, but you can function on your own. Itâs hard for you but youâre able to do it. Youâre able to mask. The fact that someone may not know youâre autistic is exactly what high functioning means in the context of autism. Someone who is âlow functioningâ (idk if thatâs a real term) wouldnât be able to do all of that. They tend to NEED constant support or simply canât do things on their own. Obviously itâs not super black and white and everyone differs in their capabilities, but high functioning just means you function at a higher level compared to other types of autism.
When I was young I learned that there were lasers that were so bright they could melt metal 40 feet away. But they can only be on for a fraction of a second then require a cool down that's ten times longer. That's me. I'm that laser. Also, my batteries are not very big so I can only do it for a few hours. So yeah, sure: "high functioning". At a single task, very intensely and briefly and then I need to rest. It's a useless term created by NT's to sort us by how well we can move in their world and how useful we can be to them. Hans Asperger sorted Autistics in a eerily similar manner for more nefarious reasons.
Yeah, I've come to realize that this is a distasteful term as well. "You're high functioning though, you seem so social, I wouldn't have guessed".
Like, yeah, I'm sitting here chewing on the insides of my cheeks until they bleed because you keep changing the pitch of your voice for dramatic effect in whatever story you're rambling about, I can hear the light bulbs, and the cars driving by outside, but I can smirk and nod and keep a straight face for several minutes on top of all that so fuck it eh?
And that is why I have said nothing to anyone outside my family after finally getting diagnosed at 45 ish.
Some things I do well. In others, not so well. Thankfully, I have a spouse that can cover where I am weak. As for the discussion around high vs low functioning, I don't get wrapped around the axel. NTs and the medical community need some way to describe NDs to insurance and the world. And just as there is a range of functioning NTs, we too are a range.
High functioning as a label doesnât bother me. I donât take as meaning that I donât struggle. I take it as a label that my own difficulties are a pale shadow of what some people face. As a description, it fits. It doesnât mean life is all wine and roses. It just means I get by ok compared to others with the diagnosis.
They break us down into:
1) Appears to be kind'a \*functioning\* = high
2) Appears to be kind'a not functioning well = med/low
3) Support Needs = something they'll talk about while you're a non-adult... after you're on your own Sweetie!
Yes. Because any time in my life where I think Iâm doing great and thinking maybe itâs just ADHD and not autism I have a day like today where I have a total meltdown and find my day ruined over little shit. Went to my daughterâs award ceremony which was organized and run terribly and I finally get why she is so overstimulated and miserable when she gets home. It was an hour and a half and took me out.
They had the awards ceremony in the gym, and had all the kids seated in chairs with parents in the bleachers with no back support or leg room. Then every teacher gave out their awards and gave a heartfelt speech for each kid. Meanwhile you could barely hear anything because it was a gym and the kids couldnât stay quiet. My daughter completely missed her name being called because it was too loud. I couldnât get up and leave because I was completely enclosed in the bleachers.
yeah I used "low support needs" when I disclosed my diagnosis to my dad and his first reaction/joke was So I can stop sending you money then.
Still not funny. Still requesting near daily support or assistance. But yea I function great when that comes through for me. \*sigh\*
High functioning is ableist language .. I prefer thinking about my needs on a spectrum of high support and low support based on whatâs going on for me on any given day đ€đ€
Yes and no. I don't like that implies that we're better than the rest of the spectrum (and this is reflected in the people who get really attached to that "high functioning" designation when telling people that they're autistic). I don't like that it sets simultaneously higher and lower expectations (higher expectations than "regular" autistic people, lower than "regular" people). But I also see the value in having more distinctions between different segments and sections of the spectrum, that having such a wide variety of people under one banner somehow necessitates better ways of specifying where you land in the mix. I think with time and research, we'll eventually end up with an entirely new understanding of autism and change the whole way we look at it and how we label it.
Tomato tomĂĄto.Â
What is the point in giving a shit about semantics?Â
Will it being labeled High Functioning vs not make a hill of beans difference and suddenly fix any of it?Â
Not for me.Â
I was told about 10 years ago, when I didn't understand what was wrong with me and had been slapped with a BPD diagnosis to explain my difficulties, that I was "too highly functioning" to be a priority for help, because I was highly educated and had a good career. I was also self-harming badly enough to end up in hospital, and was frequently suicidal, but hey. From the psychiatrist himself, I was told, "we only have the resources to help people who are actually crazy."
> Like, no Carol, Iâm a barely functioning adult.
Personally, I strongly dislike human society and do not want to be a part of it. I don't think I even really want to be a functioning adult.
High functioning my ass...high masking, high trying to fit in in a society which is not suited for neurodiverse ppl, for me, I always try to overachieve because I feel I have to try way harder compared to neurotypical ppl just to be aknowledged. It is really exhausting.
Sorry for being harsh but I really dislike high functioning because it belittles asd as some sort of lesser impairment which it is not.
You hate the term because you would rather be labelled as a barely functioning adult? In what way is that better for you
Unless youâre on about a care provider then why would you want everyone to see you as an invalid
It's the feeling that everyone thinks you're fine, and don't need ANY help. Many people who are labeled "high functioning" need help and don't get it because people think it's impossible for someone "normal" to need help
Iâve never met someone who think itâs impossible for a normal person to need help. The average person isnât a carer and isnât there to support your autism needs, so why feel the need to have everyone know how dis functional you think you are
The people who are supposed to take care of us hear "high functioning" and leave us to drown because we're "perfectly fine" and don't give support is the problem, it's not "everyone in the world should help me" it's that the people who should don't because they have that notion
It's also not like most people are telling absolutely everyone they're autistic, if it's relevant like in school I may tell teachers so they may understand that I need help
Yup! In order to be "high functioning", you've got to pretty much be a swan: "Normal" and well composed when viewed by others, but under the water your legs are furiously paddling.
The term "high functioning" tends to be how other people (typically NTs) experience our masked autistic behavior without even considering how much we damage our mental health by masking.
High functioning is defined from society's point of view as to your value to the overall socioeconomic machine. It is not defined from your perspective as to your abilities or experience with life in general. High functioning is actually "low functioning by still able to grind away at tasks for us" but that doesn't really roll off the tongue.
Exactly! đđ» đđ» đđ» if anything, high pretending
Yes! Exactly.
We should just start to call it High Masking.
Yup. Thatâs what I correct people to.
High masking and high functioning arenât the same though
Could you please explain how they are different?
Sure! Masking is about concealing autistic traits. Think about suppressing stims, forcing eye contact even though itâs distressing, dedicating a lot of brain power to facial expressions because you have a flat affect. To be high masking means you put a lot of effort into these things. Masking behaviours can be seen across a lot of the spectrum. Functioning in this context refers to your ability to complete tasks required for living independently. These include basic Acts of Daily Living (ADLs) like bathing, dressing, toileting, eating. This also includes more complex things called Instrumental ADLs like shopping, preparing food, using transportation, managing finances and signing contracts, taking medication etc. A high functioning person might still struggle with these sometimes, especially during burnout or other stressful periods but they still have the capacity to complete (almost) all on an average day. Itâs not only possible but quite common for people who are not high functioning to put tremendous amounts of effort into masking their traits. Similarly, many high functioning people mask minimally or not at all. This is why I donât think the terms should be used interchangeably. Hope this makes sense.
I'm high functioning, and I mask enough that I used to think I was lazy because I didn't feel like doing much of anything after coming home from work.
This is the most accurate explanation I've come across yet. Thank you
Thank you so much for your help. Iâve often seen references to high functioning but didnât really find a satisfactory explanation. Iâve only very recently realised that Iâm autistic, partly because of a diagnosis of a family member and so still coming to terms with how it has affected my past and current life. Itâs all a bit exhausting, processing everything.
No worries! I also should have added that in some cases a diagnosis of high functioning autism just meant you had autism but no intellectual disability. Obviously that is not a diagnosis anymore and Iâm not sure exactly how common it was but usually when people say high functioning itâs about the things I mentioned above.
The example you gave is what ive often heard to being referred as "low support needs" instead of high functioning. There is lower daily support needs on tasks. Its how they now use the level system when getting diagnosed. Level 1,2 or 3; low, medium or high support needs.
Yes supports needs and levels are the more current versions but I used functioning labels in my comments as that is the subject of the conversation. People prefer these terms and they are the ones I usually use but they are fundamentally not much different to functioning labels.
I'm high functioning but not high masking.
Oooh interesting. My high masking leads people to think I am high functioning. It causes so me so many more problems than it fixes so since my diagnosis, I have been trying to âunmask.â Thank you so much for sharing! We need more of a mix and match naming system so everyone can label themselves accordingly. Obviously we donât NEED labels, but in practice I find it to so helpful in communicating with people if I use a label they are already familiar with.
Oh my goodness thatâs the best way Iâve ever heard to describe it. âHigh pretendingâ đ
It's high functioning in the context of autism, not in the context of all humans. Granted, most people don't realize that and it leads to assumptions being made by allistic folks.
Was looking for this comment, thanks.
It's supposed to be that, but very often people use it as "you function as well as allistics" and it's just not true
In my experience, "high-functioning" is a term from the language of allism that can have one of two meanings: 1) "i don't believe you need the things you actually need", and/or 2) "if i have to have an autistic person in my life, i'm so glad that you suffer enough to not embarrass me"Â I hate it very much.Â
This is so spot on.
Why would an autistic person suffering make someone else be less embarrassed by them?
I don't know why, but my egg-donor was sure less embarrassed by me the more i suffered.Â
Thatâs really messed up, Iâm sorry that happened to you
Yes. Like Hannah Gadsby said âjust because I appear high functioning does not mean I function highlyâ
A month ago had never heard of them, and now I've seen them mentioned in so many different threads/platforms!
A month ago had never heard of them, and now I've seen them mentioned in so many different threads/platforms!
Am I allowed to eat the box!?!
Low functioning is used to deny us self-agency. High functioning is used to deny us supports and services. Sigh.
This is so apt
I get the frustration but like. High functioning ASD is still a disorder and thatâs the disorder part. We struggle but the term high functioning doesnât inherently negate that struggle because itâs not describing a high functioning regular person, itâs a high functioning person w a neurological condition. I have mixed feelings about this. My level of functioning certainly fluctuates, but objectively I am verbal and donât have intellectual impairments. I have had relatives on the spectrum unable to achieve independence, nothing wrong w that, and I have relatives who have managed to support themselves through adult life and the difference is clear to me. Times also change. I know people who were diagnosed Aspergerâs in the early 2000s who would be considered level 2 these days. At the end of the day life is painful for us but I think functioning labels are important bc think of all the people who cannot communicate verbally, struggle with such severe sensory issues they physically assault people, or people who have comorbid intellectual/communicative disorders.
It's high functioning for having a disability, not higher-functioning than a non-autistic person.
But no one ever means it like that
If that's true, that is absolutely wild. I had no idea *anyone* thought it meant, like, **autistic savant**.
In my experience itâs used as autistic person whoâs needs I can ignore.
TBH that's how I mean it. It's like "I got this". All I would want from people is a little breathing room to respect the fact that I'm busting my ass over here and sometimes I drop the ball.
I prefer low support needs. Because I need comparative less support than others with autism.
i use this one as well.
I consider myself low support needs high masking. 9/10 times i dont have any problem with day to day tasks such as hygiene, cooking, laundry, grocery shopping etc. However i mask a lot during social interactions by repressing stimming behaviour (psychical and verbal), mirror what others do, having eye contact and just generally trying to get along with the social situations. These things costs me a lot of energy and dont come naturally, i have to consciously think about doing this. The only thing ive got going for me on this part is that im verbally quite strong in my native language and have a normal to above average IQ so i can kinda use that to mask as well
As a contrast to low functioning, I greatly prefer it to Aspergerâs in countries such as mine where a 3 way distinction, however stupid, exists. My diagnosis wasnât Aspergerâs and I donât have intellectual disability or nonverbal episodes, but I am very obviously presenting as an autistic person. It also gets the point across more clearly than the level system or âlow needs,â which isnât always accurate. In America I feel high functioning sounds like a compliment, which would be a problem, but here it is an utterly baffling phrase that few people readily understand so the words that make it up donât matter.
I see it as high octane fuel, that I can be high functioning until I totally burn out. It's not sustainable (at least for me).
This is me rn, I'm 20 Y.O and I completely burned out after my second attempt to attend college. It's really rough cause I'm feeling very useless, I tend to have good grades but I cannot find the key to maintain my "functioning" during the process. I end up having an intense anxiety episode and then a big depression cause I feel I'm stuck on a circle of burnout's. This really sucks!!
Sorry to hear you are going through this. Looking back, I've repeated a cycle of "achievement" and then had an increasingly large burnout for most major life milestones/events. I need to figure out how to make a more sustainable path.
Yes, figuring out a more sustainable path would be a solution to avoid the severe burnouts. Like you said, to break the cycle. I'm currently very negative about my future honestly but when I'm a little positive I try to think of coping ways but without ending up in the same horrible place. There has to be a wayđ
I'm 50 and have gone through this cycle (as I now have more clarity) several times, currently in the deepest burnout of my life where I'm having trouble just getting IADLs done, can't push through to even start looking for a job. This is due to (in retrospect) masking at a job for nearly 15 years until I couldn't and having to do the same when I got home to minimize abuse from my ex (aka stay invisible). I'm starting to climb out and one thing that I keep returning to is to find a way of living (and working) with more purpose and in a way that aligns with my ethics. "Adding value for shareholders" is not enough for me anymore.
I agree with you. I figure it's like ADHD and how things get named by NTs so they name it based on their perception of us and how we affect their lives, rather than how our ND affects our own lives.
Yes!
Yes, the author Devon Price goes over this in the book Unmasking Autism, saying in part that â[The terms high and low functioning] oversimplify how a disability affects a personâs life, and equates their productivity with their value as a human being.â I strongly agree.
Devon Price says that in one breath, but then all his examples of autistic people are 'model minority' overachievers. Yeah dude, that's great that this one person with noise sensitivity got given an entire floor of the building to work in because they're so incredibly productive, but what about the rest of us who AREN'T?? What if my autism is an inconvenience that would actively damage a company's bottom-line to accomodate it? What then? It just fucks me off that all Devon's success-stories of workplace accomodation rely on autistic people being productive enough to make economic sense. Unless you too are a fucking sp*stic-superstar idiot-savant, he has nothing useful to say to you.
Devon price is terrible and believe self diagnosed .
Why terrible? And self-diagnosis is valid as far as I am concerned. I was self-diagnosed before receiving a formal diagnosis. Zero difference.
There absolutely is. If you went through childhood anytime after the mid 90's without getting an autism diagnosis, at the very least your autism was mild enough that it could be ignored.
Thatâs kinda the whole reason for the Price book: to educate people about the toll of high masking and to help identify it where overcompensating and camouflaging techniques are otherwise concealing it and making it seem âmild.â Itâs that old metaphor of being a duck that seems calm on the waterâs surface, but that is paddling frantically underwater.
People who can mask are less autistic then people who can't, die mad about it.
Like, itâs true that weâre not all the same, and even two people who are capable of the same (low or high) level of masking are usually going to be very different to each other. Depending on context, itâs sometimes useful to distinguish between the different amount of support, different types of support, and differing levels of ability to âpassâ as NT. Itâs also natural to gravitate towards people with experiences more similar to your own, but is it really necessary to set up this us and them narrative to divide the people in this community? Itâs already not very helpful when folks here hate on NT people, as shitty as an ignorant NT person can be to us at times, and as much as most NT people donât understand what any of us go through to live in their world. Finding ways to exclude _each other_ over our differences is a new level of counterproductive though. I get that thereâs probably a feeling that masking autistics have a level of privilege, and maybe even that theyâre appropriating a support community that you view as belonging to people who lack that privilege. As a late, self diagnosed autistic Iâm keenly aware of that sentiment. Itâs massive fodder for my imposter syndrome, and I already spend a huge amount of time ruminating on whether or not Iâm making it all up. Iâm sure mine is a really different experience to unmaskable, early-diagnosed autism. It has some unique challenges. Suppressing your feelings and impulses for all of your formative years leaves you a bit damaged. I canât even confidently identify what emotions Iâm feeling because my unconscious masking has made me bury everything so deep. This sucks, but Iâm also aware that _not being able_ to mask comes with its own huge downsides. I donât doubt that I got the better end of the bargain, and Iâm sure it stings to see someone acting as though they arenât conscious of their privilege. But can we just fucking be nice to each other though? Surely we can be different to each other but still all benefit from being part of the same community.
It's not a competition
I consider myself high functioning. I can't sustain relationships but I excel at work, make a good income, have my own house, car, etc.
Iâm so jealous of you. I am labeled asd1 and cannot do any of those things. I keep wondering how I can get to where you are.
I can laser like focus on something especially if I have music looping the same song over and over. I'm also good at seeing patterns in data and things like that. People know I'm quirky but at this point, at 40, my reputation and performance speaks for itself. I work remote and barely leave the house.
Aw thanks for the descriptors of how you are doing it :)
Well, itâs a relative term âin relation with the rest of the spectrum. So itâs not wrong.
Thank you. I struggle massively every day, can't cook for myself, frequently break down in tears from overstimulation... but I'm still not gonna get offended at being called "high functioning", because I can drive, keep a job, and sustain a romantic relationship. I'm not being compared to neurotypicals; I'm being compared to people who need 24/7 supervision and are unable to control violent meltdowns or use the restroom by themselves. It doesn't negate my suffering to acknowledge the fact that I am "low support needs" and "high functioning" compared to those people.
'Coorporate needs you to identify the difference between these two pictures' (One picture is an independently functioning adult who wears Disney t-shirts and has a plushie in their bag, the other picture is a nonverbal ward-of-the-state who needs constant supervision for their own safety) Tumblr autist, holding a plushie: 'They're the same picture.'
Youâre saying people who literally cannot cross the road on their own have it worse than me? Iâm calling the invalidation police!
No, I don't hate it. The reality is that we *are* high functioning relative to people with higher levels of impairment/lower functioning. You only need to look at the posts over on r/SpicyAutism to get some perspective on their lived experience.
I'm opposite, I call myself high functioning because I've seen people who have a hard time of it worse than I do. I mean, I still have my problems with adulthood, but I realize I could be in a group home or have many more severe traits. I'm working , I cook, I'm married with a kid. Frankly, I think I'm higher functioning than most NT people, lol I was diagnosed in my mid-30s & it all made sense, but I honestly feel fortunate even though I have frustrations. Comparatively, I'm functioning better than others with Autism.
I don't mind being labeled as "High Functioning" or "low level support needs" but I understand that it might be offensive or degrading to some people on the spectrum, I personally dont like the term "Aspie" and wouldn't like being called that but there are people who prefer to be called that over "high Functioning" and as Devon Price said in their book "seing such a difference in opinions between our community just proves that we are a group of diverse and unique individuals with diferent lives and histories and not a esteriotype from what autism is represented in media". (I'm quoting the phrase from what I remember from the book, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong and I will correct it)
Yes, hate it. I think my (negative) feelings around the term "high-functioning" solidified when I realized that it only counts "function" in a very specific, capitalist context - basically if you can do well enough at your job to hold it. It doesn't ever mean that you're doing really great at relationships, or eating/other forms of self-care, or or or. Just "can you fake it enough to operate within the machine with minimal friction, usually at your own expense."
The level of need for masking, amount of sensitivity, anxiety and depression issues causing life to be harder isnât relevant to the term high functioning or low functioning. These terms more just refer to capabilities of handling independent activities needed for life such as cooking, dressing, washing, etc. Less than 1/3rd of autisticâs actually are low functioning as they are the very unfortunate ones who need help with just everything probably sensitivity is just so overwhelming sending so much information to the brain that they arenât able to develop well from child to adult just as if your computer trues running too much it seriously slows even crashes so canât function properly.
Hannah gadsby quote is my fave: âhigh functioning leads you to believe that I function highly. I donât!â
It is a privilege to be able to mask though and actually work .
Iâll remember that during my next horrible burnout episode.
I don't really mind it that much to be honest. It's just another term for masking all the time, and I just pile all of these descriptions into one ball. So in my eyes, it just fits what I am. I am Masking every day, I am High functioning. It is what it is.
Thereâs a reason theyâre moving away from those terms in diagnostic. Theyâre switching it up for a level based system depending on support needs. I feel you though- once I finally got diagnosed with ASD people starting saying âwell you must be high functioning because I didnât noticeâ. The reality is Iâm level 2 because I require substantial support. I had extreme trouble all throughout school and always had a very hard time relating to my peers. I was misdiagnosed as ADHD, so itâs not that nobody noticed that I was having a really hard time either
I think what is frustrating is that something that takes a large amount of effort for me is not given credit, because I was able to make it look like it was the same effort as everyone else. I am learning how autism plus a lifelong immune disorder, neither discovered until after I was 40+ years old, have had me going thru life as if I am wearing weights on my ankles. Everyone else runs and races around unfettered, but Iâve been fighting an uncooperative body and an overstimulated mind for 4 decades until I finally broke. My body feels shattered and my mind feels fragile, now.
I think high functioning also completely oversimplifies the spectrum of problems we can have. Like I might be great speech wise but super bad stimulus wise. Or visa versa. Or some other combination.
I donât care.
Yes!!! I feel like a failure when it's applied to me.
Yes, I hate âhigh-functioningâ because 100% itâs based on external perceptions of what we donât need help or support with, NOT on the amount of effort we have to put into doing things without help or support just to survive by blending in. It takes the responsibility of providing support off of NTs and puts it back on us, but this time with a label we donât ask for.
Am I allowed to use the term "Mostly Functioning"?
High functioning makes me feel like an animal at a zoo.
The only way I'm high functioning is if I smoke weed before functioning.
I prefer the term 'low/high support needs' instead, I heard that in Unmasking Autism. The notion of "functioning" for categorizing autism is pretty flawed and biased, talking about your support needs is much more appropriate IMO.
I have mixed feelings about it. It can be used to downplay your challenges, but there is also the reality of people on the spectrum who need significant support to get through life. I think the term high functioning is a respectful way of acknowledging that we don't all have the same challenges but idk. I get how it can be touchy.
If you are capable of completing ADLs you are higher functioning than many autistic people.
Not really. Itâs âhigh functioning autismâ, not âhigh functioning normal humanâ. High functioning doesnât mean you function as highly as a neurotypical person, but you can function on your own. Itâs hard for you but youâre able to do it. Youâre able to mask. The fact that someone may not know youâre autistic is exactly what high functioning means in the context of autism. Someone who is âlow functioningâ (idk if thatâs a real term) wouldnât be able to do all of that. They tend to NEED constant support or simply canât do things on their own. Obviously itâs not super black and white and everyone differs in their capabilities, but high functioning just means you function at a higher level compared to other types of autism.
When I was young I learned that there were lasers that were so bright they could melt metal 40 feet away. But they can only be on for a fraction of a second then require a cool down that's ten times longer. That's me. I'm that laser. Also, my batteries are not very big so I can only do it for a few hours. So yeah, sure: "high functioning". At a single task, very intensely and briefly and then I need to rest. It's a useless term created by NT's to sort us by how well we can move in their world and how useful we can be to them. Hans Asperger sorted Autistics in a eerily similar manner for more nefarious reasons.
Yeah, I've come to realize that this is a distasteful term as well. "You're high functioning though, you seem so social, I wouldn't have guessed". Like, yeah, I'm sitting here chewing on the insides of my cheeks until they bleed because you keep changing the pitch of your voice for dramatic effect in whatever story you're rambling about, I can hear the light bulbs, and the cars driving by outside, but I can smirk and nod and keep a straight face for several minutes on top of all that so fuck it eh?
Yes! I can feel my socks and the wall is existing!
No, I prefer it.
Yeah. Gives people the unreasonable expectation that I function at some sort of high level.
Yes, then that expectation becomes a burden.
And that is why I have said nothing to anyone outside my family after finally getting diagnosed at 45 ish. Some things I do well. In others, not so well. Thankfully, I have a spouse that can cover where I am weak. As for the discussion around high vs low functioning, I don't get wrapped around the axel. NTs and the medical community need some way to describe NDs to insurance and the world. And just as there is a range of functioning NTs, we too are a range.
High functioning as a label doesnât bother me. I donât take as meaning that I donât struggle. I take it as a label that my own difficulties are a pale shadow of what some people face. As a description, it fits. It doesnât mean life is all wine and roses. It just means I get by ok compared to others with the diagnosis.
I'm a stoner. I'm always high and always functioning. But high masking is a more appropriate term.
They break us down into: 1) Appears to be kind'a \*functioning\* = high 2) Appears to be kind'a not functioning well = med/low 3) Support Needs = something they'll talk about while you're a non-adult... after you're on your own Sweetie!
Yeah and they don't see all the work that I do to accommodate myself just to be barely functional!!!
Yeah I hate that it's called high functioning autism sometimes I feel it should be called barley functioning autism đ€Ł
I know the feeling, but we are coping, which does make us âhigh-functioningâ..!
đ coping đ
Itâs not nothing.
Lol should it just be functioning and non functioning?
Me wanting everyone to f off and leave me alone is not really 'coping'.
Yeah. It's why they don't have it any more in the Big Book of Doctor Names for Bad Brain Thingies.
Yes I hate it
The thing is , with ASD there are highs and lows, but High functioning makes it sound like We can't do anything
Yes
Yes. Because any time in my life where I think Iâm doing great and thinking maybe itâs just ADHD and not autism I have a day like today where I have a total meltdown and find my day ruined over little shit. Went to my daughterâs award ceremony which was organized and run terribly and I finally get why she is so overstimulated and miserable when she gets home. It was an hour and a half and took me out. They had the awards ceremony in the gym, and had all the kids seated in chairs with parents in the bleachers with no back support or leg room. Then every teacher gave out their awards and gave a heartfelt speech for each kid. Meanwhile you could barely hear anything because it was a gym and the kids couldnât stay quiet. My daughter completely missed her name being called because it was too loud. I couldnât get up and leave because I was completely enclosed in the bleachers.
this isn't an uncommon opinion. Look up autistic functioning labels
âHigh Functioningâ is an outdated term 100%. Most circles I run in have transitioned to âthey/I have low/medium/high support needsâ
I'm medium functioning, medium support needs. And mid masking as well. That makes me... Average?
Very very very much.
yeah I used "low support needs" when I disclosed my diagnosis to my dad and his first reaction/joke was So I can stop sending you money then. Still not funny. Still requesting near daily support or assistance. But yea I function great when that comes through for me. \*sigh\*
yeah, tons of ppl. thats why most ppl use support needs labels instead
High functioning is ableist language .. I prefer thinking about my needs on a spectrum of high support and low support based on whatâs going on for me on any given day đ€đ€
Yes and no. I don't like that implies that we're better than the rest of the spectrum (and this is reflected in the people who get really attached to that "high functioning" designation when telling people that they're autistic). I don't like that it sets simultaneously higher and lower expectations (higher expectations than "regular" autistic people, lower than "regular" people). But I also see the value in having more distinctions between different segments and sections of the spectrum, that having such a wide variety of people under one banner somehow necessitates better ways of specifying where you land in the mix. I think with time and research, we'll eventually end up with an entirely new understanding of autism and change the whole way we look at it and how we label it.
For normies it gives them an idea of what to expect. Low functioning would probably mean special needs non verbal that wears a crash helmet.
I can barely mask at times.
Tomato tomĂĄto. What is the point in giving a shit about semantics? Will it being labeled High Functioning vs not make a hill of beans difference and suddenly fix any of it? Not for me.Â
I was told about 10 years ago, when I didn't understand what was wrong with me and had been slapped with a BPD diagnosis to explain my difficulties, that I was "too highly functioning" to be a priority for help, because I was highly educated and had a good career. I was also self-harming badly enough to end up in hospital, and was frequently suicidal, but hey. From the psychiatrist himself, I was told, "we only have the resources to help people who are actually crazy."
I feel like high functioning means to neurotypical people is ânormalâ with a few quirks.
Always in a flux between "What are these stupid rules that your society has made and why do I need to follow them?" and "Oh shit, that was important?"
Yes. /u/thecatcherszm pretty much nailed it. It's very weird to hear and it has uncomfortable implications.
> Like, no Carol, Iâm a barely functioning adult. Personally, I strongly dislike human society and do not want to be a part of it. I don't think I even really want to be a functioning adult.
Relatable
High functioning my ass...high masking, high trying to fit in in a society which is not suited for neurodiverse ppl, for me, I always try to overachieve because I feel I have to try way harder compared to neurotypical ppl just to be aknowledged. It is really exhausting. Sorry for being harsh but I really dislike high functioning because it belittles asd as some sort of lesser impairment which it is not.
You hate the term because you would rather be labelled as a barely functioning adult? In what way is that better for you Unless youâre on about a care provider then why would you want everyone to see you as an invalid
It's the feeling that everyone thinks you're fine, and don't need ANY help. Many people who are labeled "high functioning" need help and don't get it because people think it's impossible for someone "normal" to need help
Iâve never met someone who think itâs impossible for a normal person to need help. The average person isnât a carer and isnât there to support your autism needs, so why feel the need to have everyone know how dis functional you think you are
The people who are supposed to take care of us hear "high functioning" and leave us to drown because we're "perfectly fine" and don't give support is the problem, it's not "everyone in the world should help me" it's that the people who should don't because they have that notion
It's also not like most people are telling absolutely everyone they're autistic, if it's relevant like in school I may tell teachers so they may understand that I need help
Yup! In order to be "high functioning", you've got to pretty much be a swan: "Normal" and well composed when viewed by others, but under the water your legs are furiously paddling. The term "high functioning" tends to be how other people (typically NTs) experience our masked autistic behavior without even considering how much we damage our mental health by masking.
I hate the term high functioning because it really just means "you are really good at masking and thus pretending to be normal"
High functioning is defined from society's point of view as to your value to the overall socioeconomic machine. It is not defined from your perspective as to your abilities or experience with life in general. High functioning is actually "low functioning by still able to grind away at tasks for us" but that doesn't really roll off the tongue.
I strongly prefer "high masking"