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Comment by adolph | Hacker News Reader

Hey, at least there is the pat on the head phrase of “high functioning” right?

I mean, I absolutely understand not wanting to use that, but what do I say instead? Autism is a spectrum, and some folks are less able to function than others on that spectrum.

I legitimately want to know, because I don't know what to say here.

I've heard "low support needs" vs. "high support needs" suggested, which is similar to the language used in the DSM severity levels.

The problem one daughter of mine had with that was because she is high-functioning, she says that poeple think she consequently needs no support. She's demonstrated conclusively that isn't the case, and both of my diagnosed step-daughters need a lot of support, much in areas where many people don't.

The reality is that Autism as a whole IS NOT one single spectrum. It's a lot of different symptoms, needs, quirks, and crossover with a bunch of other mental illnesses as well, like social anxiety. Describing it as a singular variable "Spectrum" produces entirely wrong conclusions.

It's more like a 10 dimensional space, at least, with each dimension being a symptom or needs category. For example, I don't think anyone would diagnose me with autism, or even old asbergers, but I have a lot of sensory issues and struggle to parse speech and faces.

If you are aware of someone having some form of autism, and you want to know more about "where on the spectrum" they are, simply talk to them, ask what they struggle with, ask about their needs. If you didn't have to talk to a family member or nurse before talking to them, they probably don't need huge affordances.

Literally what a spectrum is: a bunch of related-but-different things.

Light is a spectrum. The frequencies composing a sound are a spectrum.

A volume control is _not_ a spectrum.

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