Summary: Researchers argue the term “high functioning autism” be abandoned by the scientific community as it is misleading and may create harmful expectations of abilities for children on the autism spectrum. “High functioning autism” is not a diagnostic term. The term is based on IQ assessments rather than functional assessments. While children with ASD may exhibit normal-to-higher IQ for their age, many experience skill based, social and behavioral difficulties that impact their daily lives.
Source: University of Western Australia
Autism researchers from the Telethon Kids Institute have called for the term ‘high functioning autism’ to be abandoned because of the misleading and potentially harmful expectations it creates around the abilities of children on the autism spectrum.
In research published in the journal Autism, a team led by Gail Alvares, from Telethon Kids and The University of Western Australia, notes that the term was first coined by researchers in the 1980s as a descriptor for people who had autism but did not have an intellectual disability.
“The term ‘high functioning autism’ is not a diagnostic term and is based on an IQ assessment, rather than a functional assessment,” Dr Alvares said.
“It was originally used to describe people without an intellectual disability, yet somehow has crept into everyday use and has come to imply that people can manage perfectly fine, and don’t experience any everyday challenges.”
Dr Alvares said that for many individuals with autism spectrum disorder, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
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