Functioning Labels

When we use functioning labels, we are adopting a completely prejudiced view of what the support needs of the entire autistic community are. 

When we say that someone is "high functioning" we are dismissing that these individual needs accommodations because according to the criteria of the person who says it, that person functions "almost normal", ignoring that people across all the spectrum have difficulties navigating a world that is not built for them (both sensory and structurally). That standpoint also ignores the differences in their motor development or certain learning disorders such as dyslexia or dyscalculia that are less visible, which leads them to require supports that are often dismissed for having “functional autism”. Those very real needs shouldn’t be ignored because someone can verbally communicate.

When someone label another as “low functioning” (label that is tends to be used with the non-speaking community) the capability of the person is underestimated. When people use this approach (specially teachers) expectations are abandoned, hindering their communication of their perspective and abilities that the person has, creating barriers that unable them to demonstrate what they are capable of to the world.

A new perspective is needed, we need to stop pathologizing looking at other from their deficits and beginning to understand the complexity of the spectrum. This requires the acceptance that it is not mainly a communication deficit but corresponds to a multimodal communication issue whereas professionals must be promoting the use of AAC (Alternative and Augmentative Communication) opening others ways of communication, and that it is not a "failure in the theory of mind" but rather a problem of empathy that the entire society has*, where we as neurotypicals are also deficient in understanding communication and the perspective of the autistic community.