Disability Resource Directory

Pros and Cons of High-Functioning Autism

High-Functioning Autism comes with some benefits over other types of autism but also has its negatives. Generally, there are difficulties with social interaction. This does not adversely impact the ability to interact with others on a day-to-day basis at a basic working level, although they may be seen as being overly serious or earnest, and as being without any "small talk" in conversation.

They may have difficulty initiating love and friendship relationships, often being rejected because potential partners perceive them as being either too "nerdy" or too intelligent. This can lead to low self esteem and loneliness, which further impairs their ability to find meaningful companionship.

People with narrow horizons may cruelly label HFA people as "oddballs" or worse, and HFA people may become the target of bullying. This can be especially true of the teenage years. Young intelligent HFA people usually do best by seeking out the company of their intellectual peers or by joining hobby groups, while avoiding their age-group peers.

Given the proven crucial role of body language in job interviews, lack of eye contact in such a situation may be perceived by potential employers as indicating that the candidate is "not telling the truth" or "uninterested in the job", and thus lead to a cumulative difficulty in finding employment.

Attending social and business events to network is also proven to play a crucial role in job hunting, but events such as these are the type that HFA people usually avoid due to their unease with the complex social interactions required. Difficulties with such pre-employment factors may contribute to comparative poverty, although intelligent HFA adults can usually find a good job if they can specialize in their area of interest at university level. Once in a good job, however, their talents may lead to promotion and they may find themselves in a new job description that does not fit their personality.

Some may have minor difficulty with motor skills and co-ordination, especially in free-form social situations or sports (they may have been "the last to be picked for the sports team" as children, and labelled as "clumsy"). This may partly explain their preference for order and neatness, since they use neatness to compensate. Some may also nurture a complex habitual movement (termed "Stimming") at which they become adept, e.g. pen spinning, while otherwise being prone to clumsiness.

They do not lack empathy (although they may have difficulty expressing it), and can thus enjoy films and stories with emotional content. Some may gain the bulk of their insight into why people behave the way they do through watching movies that provide a forceful and musically-cued "capsule lesson" in human emotions (e.g. melodramas).

Some people with HFA can be extreme procrastinators. A small minority may be unusually sensitive to sudden or annoying noise.

Benefits of HFA

Alongside deficiencies they may simultaneously benefit from some of the more positive aspects of autism. For example, they may have the ability to focus intensely and for long periods on a difficult problem. There is often an enhanced learning ability, although this may not be applied to subjects they are uninterested in. They often present no problems in a supportive, well-resourced educational institution and usually do well academically if they can be stimulated by good teachers.

People with HFA often have intense and deep knowledge of an obscure or difficult subject and a passion for pursuing it in an organized and scholarly manner.

They are usually intelligent, gifted, honest, hard workers when interested in a task and excellent problem solvers. People with HFA tend to become excellent scientists and engineers or enter other professions where painstaking, methodical analysis is required.

Speech and diction can be unusually precise in some individuals with HFA. Some may be unusually adept at wordplay and use language in inventive ways.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia