In a lot of posts from users in the US, I see people mentioning being on a spectrum and being functional autistic. How is that diagnosed and what it is? I am asking because in my country autism diagnosis is given to people who are unable to properly function on their own, and in some posts I see that the symptoms some describe are e.g. “not caring about what people say” , “getting distracted easily” etc,.
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There’s not a diagnosis for functional autism. And it’s not really a term most autistic people like, because it’s rather outdated. Because it draws a line between people with autism based on ableism.
What it means is that the person can “function” in society without tons of accommodations or other help. Autism, like most disorders, is a spectrum, meaning that there is a wide range of how it is expressed. Some people are able to more easily “mask” or hide their autism. These are generally what was traditionally called Aspergers. This term is no longer a diagnosis.
It’s important to note that even if a person with autism cannot mask and cannot communicate in a traditional way, that does not mean that they are not functional.
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