People with autism typically have a delay in speech or social skills, mixed with some behavioral symptoms. The severity of abilities and behaviors varies widely on the autism spectrum. A person with high-functioning autism can function in more typical settings than someone with a more severe form of autism.
Misconceptions
The symptoms of autism can range from classic autism to high-functioning autism to Asperger's syndrome. Often the stereotype associated with autism is of a child rocking in a corner or banging their head against the wall. There is the belief that people with autism do not want to interact, when in reality they have not been taught and it does not come instinctively. People with autism have a delay in their ability to communicate or socialize. They rely on strict routines, are slow to process information, struggle with sensory processing, demonstrate a lack of intuition in social situations and display repetitive behaviors. Not all people with autism have all of these attributes, but most struggle with a variety of these symptoms.
Features
So, what is high-functioning autism? Generally a person with a higher functioning ability in autism responds quickly to interventions, such as behavioral or speech therapies. They are able to interact at a higher level with typical peers. People with high-functioning autism make huge gains in their road to recovery. For example, a person with high-functioning autism grasps language skills or can be taught to respond appropriately to social situations.
Identification
How can you tell if someone has high-functioning autism? As a child, there are usually language delays in a person with high-functioning autism. While they do learn and grasp new things, there is delay in the process. There may also be behavioral challenges that can often be tied to the language delays. A child with high-functioning autism may use tantrums or screaming in new situations or unfamiliar territory. This can come out of fear of respond or out of frustration that they do not have the language skills to cope. A person with high-functioning autism may also display repetitive behaviors such as a hand flapping or pacing a room. Some of these behaviors are comforting and others are a result of high sensory issues. While a person may be high functioning in some areas, there may be other areas of low functioning. For example, a person with autism may excel in one academic area higher than peers, yet be slow to grasp social innuendos or subtleties in conversation.
Prevention/Solution
The earlier a child gets intervention for high-functioning autism, the better the chances for recovery. Which therapies a person gets or uses depends greatly on the symptoms. Common treatments for high-functioning autism may include speech and occupational therapy, behavioral therapy and special diets. Opportunities to role play real-life settings are very effective too, such as play therapy, role model videos and social skills classes. These all provide people with high-functioning autism the opportunity to learn play and interact. The effectiveness of each therapy is debatable, but what is a known fact is the earlier the intervention, the better.
Potential
Many people with high-functioning autism progress to a level where their autism symptoms are hardly noticeable. Others even have the autism label removed as they become closer to their typical peers. The potential to progress on the spectrum of autism is without limits. There are setbacks, however, in each therapy and the road to recovery is a long one with lots of hard work. No two people with high-functioning autism are alike, thus the results in progress differ widely too. However, many have reached a potential higher than ever predicted by doctors or psychologists.
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