There are some Autism High Functioning Symptoms that are indicators of the high functionality of autism spectrum disorder. Although you must go for professional medical advice with medical professionals, this article is meant to educate to regarding some common symptoms related to high functioning autistic individuals.
What are some major high-functioning symptoms?
After the discussion provided above, let’s have a more specific discussion and talk about the specific symptoms that can help you identify high functioning autism symptoms in yourself or in other people.
1) Routine and order:
People with high functioning autism are more devoted to routine order in their lives.
2) Restrictive habits:
They have repetitive behaviors and habits that sometimes feel too odd to other people
3) Academic performance:
Some people under the high functioning spectrum of autism do well in school, whereas some might struggle with it, getting overwhelmed and having difficulty concentrating
4) Holding a job:
Some people under this spectrum do very well in holding a job, while others struggle with it. It varies from person to person and depends on the situation
5) Social skills:
For people who are diagnosed with autism (even high functioning), they find it hard in their social interactions even if they are high functioning and doing good work in their jobs. This shows one of the autism high functioning symptoms and commonality between people on low and high spectrums.
6) Time of diagnosis:
People within the high functioning autism spectrum are diagnosed later in their lives than in childhood. They are often diagnosed when they are adults or are diagnosed later in childhood.
7) Language differences:
These people do not have language differences from normal people and show no clear developmental delays.
8) Living independently:
Once clear symptom of an autistic person within the high functioning spectrum is that they are able to live independently with no and in a few cases with minimal support.
9) Disliking Change:
Another strong sign of autistic people with high functioning is that they do not like change at all. They stick to the same meal every day in breakfast, at the sample place with the same quantity and the same dish.
What is high functioning ASD?
High Functioning Autism HFA is a classification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) whereby the person has all the symptoms and signs of autism spectrum disorder except the intellectual disability. It is a division of autism based on the intellectual capabilities of autistic individuals.
The individuals indicate standard autism indicators, but they have an IQ of 70 or greater.
Classification:
The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) of the American Psychiatric Association has no classification of autism based on intellectual capabilities.
That is why high functioning autism is not termed as a diagnosis, rather it is can be regarded as a judgment-based identification, whereby owing to the intellectual capabilities of autistic individuals, one can identify through the person’s ability that whether he or she has high functioning autism or not.
ASD Level:
Although it is difficult to determine the ASD level of a person, the trained psychologists use the tools, such as the second edition of Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) for the diagnostic criteria.
Qualities:
There are some qualities or indicators of high functioning autistic people that differentiate them from the individuals having low functioning autism.
i) Blending In:
One quality of high functioning autistic people is that they can blend well within a neurotypical society.
ii) Fewer language issues:
For people with high functioning autism, it is less likely that they will develop language issues.
iii) Less noticeable autism symptoms:
People with autism high functioning symptoms can mask their autistic traits well and are able to hold a job. They are better at forming and maintaining relationships than people with low-functioning autism.
What is the difference between low-functioning autism and high-functioning autism?
Simply put, high functioning autism is a mild form of autism. This form of autism is regarded as Level 1 autism. This form of autism is often described as Asperger’s syndrome. During diagnosis, medical reviewers confirm the presence of autism based on general diagnostic criteria of diagnosing autism alone, rather than the low and high functioning autism.
Both of these categories are differentiated on a scale where the autistic individuals with high functioning autism are able to cope well with the neurotypical societal norms and have adaptive behaviors. They have better life skills, better language skills, better communication skills, better ability to manage daily tasks, and successful careers.
In short, autistic people who appear to be closer to normal are considered as high functioning autistic individuals.
For an individual with high functioning autism, symptoms are there but the need for support is minimal and the person can even live independently.
Personal Perspectives:
In the fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, autistic disorder, Asperger syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorder are merged in one general category of autism spectrum disorders.
Other than that, in DSM-5, there are three levels of autism described, i.e. Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Whereas in the nonclinical language, the categories low functioning autism and high functioning autism are recognized in the autistic community.
In terms of personal perspectives, high functioning autism and low functioning autism are generally identified, while these autism functioning labels are not diagnosed in official medical diagnosis.
Major Differences:
There are the following major differences between low functioning and high functioning autistic individuals:
People with high functioning autism have the ability to communicate using spoken language, whereas individuals within low functioning spectrm struggle with this
People with high functioning autism are better able to meet the expectation of organizational setting, using spoken language with greater awareness of expectations of other people, whereas people with low functioning category lag behind
High functioning autistic individuals are better in nonverbal communication than low functioning individuals
High-functioning autistic people are more likely to be included in the activities at school with the need for additional support, whereas low functioning autistic children lag behind in this.
A high functioning autistic person is more aware of the social conventions than low functioning individuals
A person with autism high functioning symptoms appears typical and autism is not easily identified in them unless they interact with other people.
People with high functioning autism are less socially awkward and have fewer problems in social interactions than their low functioning counterparts.
People with autism high functioning symptoms have less emotional sensitivity, emotional distress, and problems with physical sensations and sensory input than low functioning people.
Typical to low functioning autistic people:
People with low functioning autism are identified with the following major signs:
They have limited or zero spoken language skills, where they take the help of boards and technology devices to communicate themselves
They appear different from their peers, and a casual observer can identify that by their body language.
They hesitate in eye contact and sometimes don’t do this at all
They have social challenges where they are less likely to be included in a team during school activities
What are some major high-functioning symptoms?
After the discussion provided above, let’s have a more specific discussion and talk about the specific symptoms that can help you identify high functioning autism symptoms in yourself or in other people.
1) Routine and order:
People with high functioning autism are more devoted to routine order in their lives.
2) Restrictive habits:
They have repetitive behaviors and habits that sometimes feel too odd to other people
3) Academic performance:
Some people under the high functioning spectrum of autism do well in school, whereas some might struggle with it, getting overwhelmed and having difficulty concentrating
4) Holding a job:
Some people under this spectrum do very well in holding a job, while others struggle with it. It varies from person to person and depends on the situation
5) Social skills:
For people who are diagnosed with autism (even high functioning), they find it hard in their social interactions even if they are high functioning and doing good work in their jobs. This shows one of the autism high functioning symptoms and commonality between people on low and high spectrums.
6) Time of diagnosis:
People within the high functioning autism spectrum are diagnosed later in their lives than in childhood. They are often diagnosed when they are adults or are diagnosed later in childhood.
7) Language differences:
These people do not have language differences from normal people and show no clear developmental delays.
8) Living independently:
Once clear symptom of an autistic person within the high functioning spectrum is that they are able to live independently with no and in a few cases with minimal support.
9) Disliking Change:
Another strong sign of autistic people with high functioning is that they do not like change at all. They stick to the same meal every day in breakfast, at the sample place with the same quantity and the same dish.
Latest Autism Research
The latest evidence-based research tells us that more than 1% of the world population is autistic. There are also other neurodevelopmental disorders that are diagnosed under the applied behavioral analysis of people.
Autism spectrum disorder is a mental health condition that comes under the category of mental disorders. It is a neurodevelopmental disorder that appears during early childhood and impacts social skills, relationship development, self-regulation, and communication skills. It is a complex and lifelong developmental disability.
There are some treatment options available for an autistic person, e.g. social skills training to assist in the understanding of social cues and conversation skills, speech therapy to assist in voice control, and occupational therapy to assist in voice control. Applied behavior analysis can take help from the developmental history and early intervention can help in coping better.
In 2013, American Psychiatric Association grouped all the autism-related disorders into one single term, i.e. autism spectrum disorders or ASD.
To diagnose autism spectrum disorder, professionals medically reviewed only those people with severe symptoms. Later on, milder symptoms like Asperger’s syndrome and high functioning autism were also included in the list of disorders connected with this term.
Wrapping Up Autism High Functioning Symptoms
Given above is the brief overview of autism high functioning symptoms, which is meant to educate the reader to spot the disorder in people who have not very clear signs of low functioning type.
In short, these people with autism high functioning symptoms show the same symptoms with less severity and are able to live a better life with less need for support.
You can take help from this article, where only high-quality sources are used to collect data and other peer-reviewed studies to get help in getting the information for autism high functioning symptoms.
