I’m in my car in the parking lot outside of work. Holding my phone and shaking as I call my wife. She answers and I interrupt, “I have bad news, I just got fired again”.
In Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) under the DSM 5 with its three levels of functioning, the concept that autism is a continuum with a high functioning and a low functioning end is implied and has become a popular belief. Adding to the confusion is the term “functioning” is defined in three broad categories of, Requiring Support, Requiring Substantial Support, or Requiring Very Substantial Support. The continuum model combined with the perception of a low to high function model creates a bad situation for many working adults, particularly in the technology fields, where greater ability to mask ASD/Asperger’s symptoms lead to a greater chance of the Curse of High Functioning.
The Curse of High Functioning is the combination of the popular view of function going from low to high with the mistake of believing function is measured against how close to an average neurotypical you appear. Most would consider a person with ASD to be lower functioning if they have communication or social interaction challenges. Because of that, the expectation for the person is lowered and greater allowance is given for odd behavior. This occurs even if the person is an expert in a technical area. Conversely, if the person is able to display abilities in communication and social interaction at a typical level, they are assumed to be Neurotypical. This is where the Curse of the low, high ASD model appears. Being seen as neurotypical shifts the standards us high functioning autistics have to meet from being challenging to impossible. The Curse happens when we are judged as less capable due to challenges with the subtleties of human interaction, irrespective of our contributions in other areas.
“Seeing us as the complex people we are allows everyone to benefit from our unique ways of perceiving and processing without incurring hurt feelings.”
Consistent with the low to high continuum model and the progression model of most conditions, the popular concept is if the person is low functioning they have very high expression of most spectrum condition traits. For high functioning the belief is the traits decrease across the board as the function improves. At some point the function is so high and the traits so low the high functioning start being considered as being merely geeky normal neurotypicals. The Curse, is having our autistic symptoms spill out into the open and being evaluated by neurotypical norms instead of autistic ones.
As I reflect on my work world interactions both prior and post my Asperger’s diagnosis in my mid 50’s, I now see many situations where the Curse of High Functioning has bitten me. The events which lead to my firing at the start of the article is a text book example of the Curse of High Functioning. My Neuro CloudTM charts show my Interactional IndicatorsTM have a high Interactional AlignmentTM. While I face many frequent ASD / Asperger’s challenges and express many traits, the visible ones people tend to notice are mostly areas in which I excel. See Fig 1 for a breakdown of the intensity of many common ASD challenges which I face.
A quick glance at the graph of my strength and challenge areas clearly disproves the popular concept that high functioning means minimal ASD challenges. I max out at a 10 for anxiety and have multiple challenges at 9 such as emotional processing, black- and-white rigid thinking, and inability to understand non-literal parts of communication. On the other hand, in the highly visible areas such as eye contact, real time communication, dress, and appropriate vocal tone and body language, I show little to no challenge and perform on or above the typical norm. The conclusion most reach is I talk like a neurotypical, I act like one, and I converse and engage like one, therefore, I must be a neurotypical like them. Being seen as a neurotypical when your brain operating system functions in neurodiverse territory is the Curse of High Function, Autism’s Uncanny Valley.
The world I see and function in is quite different, even alien. I have many autistic traits that surface based on the situation. Given the chance, I will talk about my interests without noticing you died from boredom. The idea of considering what others may think or feel as input to a decision is not a thought which occurs to me. Instead, I embrace the numbers and facts. Most challenging of all, I can be pushed into a slow build meltdown in multiple ways. My meltdowns are not pretty. Large amounts of anger and foul language spills out. I have learned, this behavior is a major employment mistake. Violating unstated acceptable behavior and can even fall under companies’ workplace violence rules.
To correct this harmful misconception, I propose the Neuro CloudTM concept of Neurodiversity to replace the distorting continuum view. In the Neuro CloudTM concept, we look at any given trait in a 3D sense. Consider the Neuro CloudTM as the universe of all the range of traits humanly possible. It is filled with clouds of confetti & glitter of all shapes and sizes interacting and intermingling with each other. These clouds are the representation of the full range of each traits frequency and intensity. The Neuro CloudTM model allows for any combination of traits for any particular person. This is much more constructive then the low, high continuum where specific traits are expected in only particular segments of the linear spectrum.
“The conclusion most reach is I talk like a neurotypical, I act like one, and I converse and engage like one, therefore, I must be a neurotypical like them.”
The neuro cloudTM breaks the continuum view by showing the traits associated with ASD and neurodiversity do not increase and decrease evenly, but instead can express in any combination of trait and intensity. These traits are distributed among all human and appear in the neurotypical population usually in a less dominant form. In the same way a neurodiverse, autistic person like myself can have neurotypical traits.
The chart to the left is my own multivariate Interactional IndicatorTM chart showing the levels of difficulty I face in a range of common ASD social challenges. Instead of being seen as high functioning, with no diffabilities and “normal”, figure 2 is clear in regard to how specific traits and challenges express in
intensity for me. In this model, the truth of my perceived “high functioning” is revealed. My outwdiard social abilities are strong, but I don’t consider or pick up the social & emotional cues.
While this chart focuses on challenges, if we looked at a similar depiction of strengths I gain from Asperger’s you would see a similar pattern. Areas where I excel and others were my ability is average. My strongest areas align very well with technical and STEM careers.
Despite the struggle to present a 3D model on 2D paper, I am sure you see the misleading implications when we consider developmental disorders in a low to high continuum. More important is your understanding of the random mixing of trait presence and intensity in any given individual, whether neurotypical or neurodiverse.
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