Autistics and Eliminating Functioning Labels

If you mean to say a person has a Learning Disability and is also Autistic... say just that.

If you mean to say a person is Epileptic and Autistic, say it out long, we are worth your time.

If you mean to say a person is Autistic and did not experience language onset delays, again take your time to pass this valuable information on to the hearer.

But "high functioning" none of us are, off and on, and it is meaningless, made-up, ignorant, anti-scientific, damaging, and NOT even in the DSM 5 for really great honest safe reasons.

We are best served by hearing Identity + Truth, not Pejorative Label + Func Label.

I.e. Autistic with Significant Executive Dysfunction, not

ASD High-Functioning

Thank you.

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If you look at the DSM 5, there is a grid, with the Levels 1,2,3 in it, THAT COLUMN IS SOLELY A DISTRACTION, but there is also the functioning and pathologising crap in the description.

If I replace the words "High Functioning" with HFA or Level 2, we are still using functioning labels and functioning levels that have no reality in any basis.  It was  the wicked Dr Catherine Lord who promised to NOT do exactly this in private communications with Dr Fred Volkmar, who then served this damaging stuff up anyway.

When you read what the Levels refer to, you should be horrified at the language...

"Severe, impairments, very limited, minimal, marked, deficits, limited, reduced, abnormal, deficits, decreased" ... I won't continue.

[Image: DSM 5 Manual excerpt on Levels 1,2,3]