Functioning Labels

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[Image description: A rainbow gradient that is labeled "more autistic" on one end and "less autistic" on the other. There is a red X next to it. Below it is a rainbow colored wheel that reads "language", "motor skills", "sensory", "perception", and "executive function". There is text in the corner that reads "Circular spectrum by Rebecca Burgess. Montage @sciencebase.]

Functioning labels are used to describe how well an autistic person can function in society. There have been lots of harmful implications that have come from the use of them. The most common functioning labels for autism are high-functioning and low-functioning, often abbreviated to HFA and LFA respectively. As Laura Tisoncik once put it, "high functioning means your deficits are ignored, and low functioning means your assets are ignored". People also vary greatly in how well they can function in society as an autistic person from day to day and depending on the context. They are simply not accurate. Another problem with functioning labels is their similarity to the hierarchy institutions used to "grade" someone's mental development based on their IQ.  Another common functioning label is Asperger's Syndrome, which has historically been used to separate the HFAs from the LFAs, and this has even been done within autistic spaces. This concept is known as Aspie Supremacy. Other functioning labels for autism include mild, moderate, severe, and the levels of autism that are in the DSM-V. 

While a lot of what can be found on here uses functioning labels, there are also plenty of critiques of the use of functioning labels. It is still something the Neurodiversity Movement struggles with. Aspie Supremacy is very much still an issue that needs to be combatted. I may add a separate category for it eventually. For now, you can find writings that critique functioning labels here.

Changes to the DSM-V

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-V) came with an important update to autism. That update was the removal of Asperger's Syndrome. Asperger's was removed from the DSM-V in part due to advocacy from autistic people. This change impacted many things. Below are links that explain it more in-depth.