High-Functioning Autism

High-functioning autism (HFA) is the condition of individuals who display some symptoms of autism but who are able to function close to or above a normal level in society. HFA is sometimes also known as Asperger syndrome. In everyday terms, those who are affected by it may be understood as being "eccentrics", "nerds", "geeks", or termed a "little professor" or boffin.

The term Asperger syndrome is sometimes used in the same sense as HFA, but the exact difference between autism, Asperger syndrome, and HFA varies. There are a range of deficiencies and talents in HFA, the precise configuration of which can vary widely from individual to individual, ranged along a continuum.

There is a high correlation between HFA characteristics and those described in the Myers-Briggs INTP profile [1] description. Another theory states that Asperger's correlates to the INTJ personality type, whereas HFA correlates to the INFJ personality type.

There is some evidence that the label has wrongly become a catch-all diagnosis for badly-behaved children. In 2000 in the UK, the lead clinician and autism specialist at Northgate and Prudhoe NHS Trust in Morpeth, Dr Tom Berney, published a paper commenting on this. He wrote in the prestigious British Journal of Psychiatry:- "There is a risk of the diagnosis of autism being extended to include anyone whose odd and troublesome personality does not readily fit some other category. Such over-inclusion is likely to devalue the diagnosis to a meaningless label."

There may also be overlap with the label of "intellectually gifted". There is some evidence, largely anecdotal, of instances where children who would previously have been labelled "intellectually gifted" are denied entry to an advanced for-the-gifted educational program - because their case notes give them the broader "autism" label.

Social aspects

In general, people with HFA tend to make fairly frequent social faux pas involving an inability to accurately predict someone else's thoughts, feelings or reactions to something possibly said. They may also forget to display basic social pleasantries (e.g. forgetting to knock before entering a room; or when greeted with "how are you?" they may not reciprocate by following on to ask how the other person is).

Their naive understanding of social interaction may lead them to be overly trusting and thus open to manipulation by others. They may thus be seen as lacking "common sense". For this reason it can be a disaster if youth services departments create large "treatment" groups that place vulnerable young HFA people alongside amoral manipulative youths with psychopathic disorders.

They may appear somewhat removed or disconnected or "dreamy" at times, especially in situations of sensory overload, or perceive extreme social pressure such as during a party or in a crowded bar. They may have only limited levels of eye contact during one-to-one encounters, and this can lead to them being labelled as being "shy".

Unlike autism, there is no general learning disability. The research community recognises that HFA does not happen in people with an IQ of less than about 75 (i.e.: able to complete elementary school and live independently in modern society). People with HFA are articulate - the DSM IV says that spoken language development must be normal for a diagnosis to be made.

People with HFA generally like routine and order, and this may manifest early as childhood traits (e.g.: as a child, writing out a A-Z library card-index catalog for their comic book collection). They may restrict their daily choice of clothes to only a limited range.

When interested in a task or subject area they will work intently on it. If uninterested they may ignore the task, try to alter it so it reflects one of their personal interests, or only do the "bare minimum" required to complete the task. Their preferred method of working may be to produce a complete rough structure or draft first, and then focus intently on taking it through many incremental revisions until it is complete.

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