One of my takeaways from the Autism Conference I attended today - People need to realize if a person receives a diagnosis of Autism, then that means they need support.
Looking at the 1-3 severity levels in an Autism diagnosis, a person with a Level 1 diagnosis doesn't mean that they need no support or less support than a person with a Level 3 diagnosis.
This got my mind going on functioning labels.
Functioning labels are meaningless. Autism does not fall on a straight line from "high-functioning" to "low-functioning" or vice versa.
A highly verbal autistic person with a Level 1 severity could have behaviors that impede their ability to function. A nonverbal autistic person with a Level 3 severity might not have those same behaviors, but needs an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) method or device in order to communicate.
Having a Level 1 severity does not mean "high-functioning".
Having a Level 3 severity does not mean "low-functioning".
Again, functioning labels are meaningless.
One of my children has a Level 1 severity. He is mostly homebound and is not able to attend regular classes at school nor does he handle stores well, but he is highly verbal. He is very articulate, uses advanced vocabulary, and adults tend to forget that he is a young teenager when speaking to him. He will tell you all about quantum mechanics and the field of Astrophysics.
My other child, who is older, has a Level 2 severity. She does attend regular class at school everyday. She also loves to shop in specific places (Wal-Mart is a no-go for any of us.) Her severity level is considered a Level 2, because she has an accompanying language impairment. She is considered verbal, but her prefered communication methods are sign language and pictures as well as journal writing and poems. Spoken words are hard for her. She says that most of the time there is a disconnect between her mouth and her brain. You want to know about Environmental Science or emotions? She can explain these things to you in beautiful ways.
People talk to my son and think he is so "high-functioning" and he needs no support which leaves him struggling on his own.
People try to talk to my daughter (who most likely will have a stuffed animal with her) and think she is a "lower-functioning" person and not capable.
Both my children are autistic. Both are capable and both need support no matter what their level of severity is labelled as.