As other folks have said, I wouldn't worry much about the high/low functioning label, either. For me, my functioning level definitely depends on the situation, my energy level, and other random forces.
everyone I know (especially my family) seems to assume that I'm some sort of genius at everything based solely on my math and computer skills.
Well, I can definitely relate to this. If you excel in one area, people will usually assume that you can do most things well. I feel like this is a common misunderstanding that NTs have about people on the autistic spectrum.
I just wanted to make sure. In autism, it always seemed to me like there was some sort of unwritten rule that you have to put (x-posted to insert_community_here) at the beginning or end of an entry that's crossposted, so I wanted to make sure that this entry would be okay regardless of whether or not it counted as a cross-post. (Which I didn't think it did, but like I said, I didn't trust my instincts very much.)
The technical definition of Asperger's versus high-functioning autism versus low-functioning autism is, as I understand, this: a LFA generally has an IQ of 70 or less and some kind of intellectual disability, whereas HFA and aspies don't. The difference between aspies and HFAs is that HFAs generally start out in life with a delay in speech, but catch up by the time they reach adolescence, whereas aspies generally do not have any kind of speech delay.
But as said before, the lines between aspie, HFA and LFA are very blurred and indistinct. And, more importantly, not every HFA or aspie is some kind of genius savant. Most of us are normal people with some areas where we do well and some areas where we don't. You sound like you fit in here just fine :)
I know the lines are indistinct - I just feel like it'd be better if I knew which one I'm the closest to so I can identify with it.
Even with the technical definitions, it's hard to tell whether I have Asperger's or HFA; I started talking occasionally at age 2 and started being talkative at age 5 or 6, so even though my speech was delayed (implying HFA), I caught up long before adolescence (implying Asperger's).
I know what you mean - I prefer to know things 100% for certain as well. Doubt is really freaking annoying.
To be honest - and this is speaking as somebody with absolutely no qualification to diagnose and only a single course in studying autism - you sound comfortably aspie to me :)
You sound like me. More correctly, you sound like me at the same approximate age; I'm more than 3 times your age now.
At 17, I was a fripping genius at anything involving algorithms. Geometry had been my weak spot in high school math, and I didn't fully grok the concept of proof, but I'd perseverated on topology and geometry puzzles in spite of my inability to visualize anything, and got decent marks because of it. No diagnosis, and didn't yet know I'd find Windows painful, and computer hardware tasks equally annoying; personal computers had not happened yet. I didn't do small talk, and didn't care. I also didn't recognize faces - and didn't know that any one else could; sounds like you don't have that problem, but it did bad things to my social life. My writing was probably as clear as yours (in this message) but I thought of it as terribly difficult. And as for things needed to survive in the adult world - let's just say it was a very good thing I was living in a dormitory.
And the other half - I learned. I'm a successful computer programmer. I solved some difficulties by hiring help, and others by deciding that I simply wouldn't do things I didn't care to do. And some time in my 40s, some of my autistic traits seem to have changed - mostly become less, or different.
I also didn't recognize faces - and didn't know that any one else could; sounds like you don't have that problem, but it did bad things to my social life.
Strangely, I have that problem for some people, but not others. There are people whom I learn to recognize automatically and just as quickly as a NT would, but there are also people whom I've known for 2-4 years and still can't put their names to their faces because, for them, I have to manually come up with mental associations between them and people they resemble (real or fictional) that I already recognize (i.e. "that's the one that looks like Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer") for a while before I finally memorize their names.
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everyone I know (especially my family) seems to assume that I'm some sort of genius at everything based solely on my math and computer skills.
Well, I can definitely relate to this. If you excel in one area, people will usually assume that you can do most things well. I feel like this is a common misunderstanding that NTs have about people on the autistic spectrum.
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It seems that NTs rarely have just the right expectations of people on the spectrum - most of the time, they either think too highly or too lowly.
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"Cross-posting" is mostly "Copy & paste" kind of thing.
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But as said before, the lines between aspie, HFA and LFA are very blurred and indistinct. And, more importantly, not every HFA or aspie is some kind of genius savant. Most of us are normal people with some areas where we do well and some areas where we don't. You sound like you fit in here just fine :)
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Even with the technical definitions, it's hard to tell whether I have Asperger's or HFA; I started talking occasionally at age 2 and started being talkative at age 5 or 6, so even though my speech was delayed (implying HFA), I caught up long before adolescence (implying Asperger's).
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To be honest - and this is speaking as somebody with absolutely no qualification to diagnose and only a single course in studying autism - you sound comfortably aspie to me :)
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That's what I thought - I guess it's just that at times, I feel slightly higher- or lower-functioning than that. :)
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Welcome to the community, by the way. :)
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You sound like me. More correctly, you sound like me at the same approximate age; I'm more than 3 times your age now.
At 17, I was a fripping genius at anything involving algorithms. Geometry had been my weak spot in high school math, and I didn't fully grok the concept of proof, but I'd perseverated on topology and geometry puzzles in spite of my inability to visualize anything, and got decent marks because of it. No diagnosis, and didn't yet know I'd find Windows painful, and computer hardware tasks equally annoying; personal computers had not happened yet. I didn't do small talk, and didn't care. I also didn't recognize faces - and didn't know that any one else could; sounds like you don't have that problem, but it did bad things to my social life. My writing was probably as clear as yours (in this message) but I thought of it as terribly difficult. And as for things needed to survive in the adult world - let's just say it was a very good thing I was living in a dormitory.
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Strangely, I have that problem for some people, but not others. There are people whom I learn to recognize automatically and just as quickly as a NT would, but there are also people whom I've known for 2-4 years and still can't put their names to their faces because, for them, I have to manually come up with mental associations between them and people they resemble (real or fictional) that I already recognize (i.e. "that's the one that looks like Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer") for a while before I finally memorize their names.
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