High Functioning Autism: Difference between revisions
Leo Kanner (1943) is responsible for the early "autism == low function" stereotype
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(Leo Kanner (1943) is responsible for the early "autism == low function" stereotype) |
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For a while, this worked out really well and helped determine who was and who wasn't autistic. However, autism is such a broad spectrum that it covers everything from the eccentric engineer who spoke in full sentences by age four, to the fellow who can't use symbolic communication at all and needs an aide 24/7. Awareness campaigns emphasized the small minority of autistics with the most obvious, severe cases, and implied that autistics could not learn or have meaningful lives; often, in an effort to gather more donations, autism "charities" would make autism sound like a fate worse than death (one Autism Speaks spokesperson claimed to have considered killing herself and her child, but to have been prevented by the fact that she had another, normal child).
With autism having such an unrealistically frightening reputation, doctors became afraid that a child's mother would hit them with her purse (or, more realistically, either refuse to believe the diagnosis or else give up on the child) if they were told that the child was "autistic"; so they began using the term "high-functioning" to mean "this person does not fit
"High-functioning" is a term that has no official medical definition; it is mostly determined by the perception of the person using the term. If someone says "high-functioning autistic," they may be implying something like, "I know you're autistic, but I don't want to 'lump' you with Those People who can't talk or use the toilet," a statement which of course has serious [[Unfortunate Implications]].
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