Anxiety disorders with extreme shyness and social withdrawal can be mistaken for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Social anxiety disorder can cause children to be "shut down" with regard to social interactions.
Some developmental health professionals refer to PDD-NOS as “subthreshold autism." In other words, it's the diagnosis they use for someone who has some but not all characteristics of autism or who has relatively mild symptoms.
What is High-Functioning Autism? “High-functioning autism” isn't an official medical term or diagnosis. It's an informal one some people use when they talk about people with an autism spectrum disorder who can speak, read, write, and handle basic life skills like eating and getting dressed. They can live independently.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is typically diagnosed in toddlerhood or early childhood,1 but it is possible for clinicians and parents to miss or overlook the symptoms of high-functioning autism (HFA), in particular, until late childhood, adolescence, or even adulthood.
Difficulty Communicating and Awkward Communication
– Difficulty reading social cues and participating in conversations. – Difficulty empathizing with other people's thoughts and feelings. – Struggling to read people's body language or facial expressions.
Kanner's Syndrome
This type of autism is also known as Classic Autistic Disorder, and its symptoms can include challenges communicating or understanding others, engaging in virtually no eye contact, and a hypersensitivity to stimuli (smell, light, noise, taste, or touch).
People on the autism spectrum are just as likely as their typically developing peers to enjoy engaging with others in activities that interest them. Difficulties with social communication are however a diagnostic criterion for autism and they present in a spectrum of ways.
Mildly autistic people are unable to understand the body language or emotions (sarcasm, pain and anger) of the people around them. However, they have normal intelligence and can carry their day-to-day activities.
Diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be difficult because there is no medical test, like a blood test, to diagnose the disorder. Doctors look at the child's developmental history and behavior to make a diagnosis. ASD can sometimes be detected at 18 months of age or younger.
Asperger's syndrome is closely related. Identified for the first time in 1944 by Viennese psychologist Hans Asperger, it wasn't officially classified as a unique disorder until 1994. It shares all the features of high-functioning autism except that people with Asperger's don't have early delays in developing language.
If a school aged student is diagnosed with high functioning Autism or Asperger's Syndrome (hereinafter referred to collectively as “Asperger's”) and has special needs that rise to the level of requiring special education services, he or she would be classified and receive an Individualized Education Plan (“IEP”).
Due to its lower prevalence in females, autism was always thought to have a maternal inheritance component. However, research also suggests that the rarer variants associated with autism are mostly inherited from the father.
Autistic folks may navigate the world and social interactions in a different way. That doesn't mean they don't have social skills. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) varies in how it may affect an individual.
The difference between social awkwardness and autism tend to overlap because both have similar characteristics. Some people with autism might avoid eye contact, have difficulty with inflation of their voice, and even have trouble understanding sarcasm and jokes.
Those with autism tended to display much more unique patterns — each in its own, individual way. They realized that the synchronization patterns seen in the control group were "conformist" relative to those in the ASD group, which they termed "idiosyncratic."
One of the medical disorders that has been consistently associated with ASD is mitochondrial dysfunction. Individuals with mitochondrial disorders without concomitant ASD manifest dysfunction in multiple high energy organ systems, such as the central nervous, muscular and gastrointestinal systems.
A common characteristic of speech in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), idiosyncratic language is described as stereotypical and inappropriate word use. These unusual utterances include pedantic speech, in which the child uses overly specific details.
As of 2013, Asperger Syndrome and High-functioning autism are no longer terms used by the American Psychological Association, and have instead both been merged into autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As of 2021, the World Health Organization also retired the terms and merged them into autism spectrum disorder.
A Word From Verywell. High-functioning autism can be challenging for people with autism and those in their lives. Therapies such as speech-language therapy and social skills training can help people with HFA function more easily and effectively in daily life.
Private schools may offer small classes, individualized attention, and terrific resources. This may be a good option for an autistic student who is extremely high functioning and socially competent.
Higher intelligence: Many people with HFA are really smart and have a great memory along with a strong vocabulary and ability to think visually. This helps them to think outside the box and be creative problem solvers. Honest and accepting: They'll be honest and tell you the truth. Those with HFA see through pretense.