Invalidating "High-Functioning" Autism Is Not Only Ignorant—It's Dangerous

By: Gracie Wise

A picture of my sister Maggie and I seeing Mike the Tiger at LSU. Taken in November 2019.

(Content Warning: Swearing and hateful language)

Before wrapping up my sophomore year at Loyola University, I wrote an opinion piece for The Maroon newspaper. 

I wanted to offer a different perspective about autism that contrasted with the persistent negativity surrounding the disability, as well as encourage parents to empower their autistic children at every stage of development.

While my article received overwhelming praise from many readers, it also received a few negative comments. In fact, one lovely comment in particular stuck out to me like a sore thumb:

This is c*ap autism is a terrible disease and we need a cure. High functioning people please sit down. There are people with autism who scream, cry, and are trapped in their minds 24/7 all day everyday. 2019 we are finally standing up and vocalizing with the voiceless!! Standing up for low functioning. No more talk of neurodiversity bulls*it! Autism sucks.. prayers for a miracle!!!"

Harmful Autism Rhetoric Is on the Rise

I'm not gonna lie... that comment hurt my feelings. My rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD) kicked into full gear, and I cried. I fell into a spiral of self-doubt, questioning whether it was a good idea for me to write that article or not. I even worried that I sounded arrogant or naive.

That hateful comment is an example of how autistics with lower support needs (or “high-functioning” autistics) are spoken to by neurotypicals online. Why? Because we either don’t appear to be disabled or remind them of the following stereotypes of autism that have circled the media for decades:

• We're nonverbal.

• We're masters at math, science, or technology.

• We have little to no empathy.

• We're intellectually disabled.

• We're "pure and innocent" angels.

• We're inherently violent.

• We don't drink or smoke.

• We're all interested in trains, car plates, LEGO, etc.

• We can't graduate, work, drive, live on our own, get married, and have children.

• And much more.

These comments are also a symptom of a troubling trend that’s been sweeping the Internet in recent years: the increase of dismissive attitudes towards low-support needs autistics.

A picture of me taking a nap after school (in case you needed to see how exhausting high school was for me). Taken in 2013.

High-Functioning Autism Means Your Needs Are Denied

Dame Uta Frith, a professor who is well-known for conducting crucial research on autism, made headlines for her controversial statements regarding the autism spectrum this year. She declared that the spectrum has become "too broad" and suggests that late-diagnosed autistics (particularly women) were likely misdiagnosed and are confusing hypersensitivity with disability.

Frith's statement is on par with equally damaging statements from a slew of politicians, journalists, healthcare providers, pseudoscientists, parents, and the general public, declaring that low-support needs autistics aren't truly autistic (whatever that means).

On top of that, they're berated online and accused of stealing services from high-support needs autistics. Even worse, non-autistics with preconceived notions of autism assume that late-diagnosed autistics are trying to be trendy because of a video they watched on TikTok.

And if you were diagnosed as a child? It doesn’t matter: they’ll invalidate you, too—especially if your needs are invisible.

You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

"High-Functioning" Autistics Need Support, Too

In case you're wondering what it's like to be a "high-functioning" autistic, here's an example from my high school years.

Every October, my school held a huge rally in the gym. Every Tuesday before Rally Day, we'd go to separate areas on campus to practice our exhibition cheer and songs during fifth period—and I hated it.

Why, you may ask? Here's a neurodivergent perspective on what rally practice felt like: imagine trying to move while standing in a crowded room for 50 minutes, all while being subjected to a cacophony of screaming and yelling and mucking around from every single classmate in the room for a good chunk of the time. Practice in a room that is so muggy and buggy and you'll feel so sticky and gross afterward.

Total. Sensory. Nightmare.

During one chaotic rally practice, every one was screaming and yelling at each other in the auditorium, not getting anything done. The teachers tried to step in, but to no avail. It got so intense that I just stood there and cried.

Years later, I realized I was having an autistic meltdown caused by sensory overload. Had I known about my autism diagnosis sooner, I wouldn't have felt silly for crying in front of a bunch of people who were around my age. Perhaps this would've prompted me to advocate for myself, requesting that I cheer from the sidelines (or, at the very least, wear earplugs if my participation was mandatory).

Looking at myself in the mirror at a cute little store in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Taken in July 2023.

"High-Functioning" Autism ≠ "Easy" Autism

I know, I know... my experience as a low-support needs autistic is worlds apart from those with moderate- and high-support needs: I graduated from college summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree and Kappa Tau Alpha. I can drive. I work. I'm fully capable of living on my own (as soon as I can find a decent place). I'm able to communicate my needs easily.

But suggesting that autistics with lower-support needs don't need help ignores the fact that they too struggled in their childhood, especially those who didn’t know they were autistic for decades (and it certainly doesn’t excuse attacking them online).

Having low-support needs autism means our struggles are invisible to the public, and the minute they reach the surface, people automatically label us as weird, lazy, rude, bad, sensitive, or crazy. If we're undiagnosed or unaware of our autism, we gradually take these labels to heart, believing that we're broken beyond repair—and living in a neurotypical world that rewards compliance and punishes differences doesn't help.

Even when we're diagnosed, we still face employment discrimination at work, bullying from students and teachers in school, executive dysfunction, social exclusion, neurotypical expectations, immense pressure to camouflage, and burnout from prolonged masking.

Resources for autistic adults, especially those with lower support needs, are either scarce or completely unavailable—and then society wonders why plenty of them are diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adulthood.

The Dangers of Dismissing High-Functioning Autism

Do I think there needs to be a distinction between autistics with lower support needs and higher support needs? Absolutely. But denying the existence of low-support needs autistics isn't a good solution.

I have no doubt in my mind that the DSM reverting to pre-2013 criteria would nullify the diagnoses of autistic people who either slipped through the cracks or were misdiagnosed in the past.

If that happened, autistics who received or discovered their diagnosis after decades of feeling broken could lose access to accommodations, therapies, community support, and protections. Mental health issues could worsen significantly, and the pressure to mask at all costs could further intensify. In short, late-diagnosed and late-discovered autistics could be forced back to Step 1.

But worst of all, it could affect plenty of autistic children who don't tick off every single checkbox for autism, especially autistics from marginalized groups. We'd thus be creating another generation that's traumatized from being mistreated, misunderstood, and overlooked.

Me and my friend Mason at Port Orleans Brewing Co. for our first-ever CATS event. Taken in February 2025.

Conclusion

When you invalidate the voices of autistics with lower support needs, insisting that every single person is autistic these days and that they're not like an autistic person you know in real life or on TV, you're telling them that their experiences aren't real and their needs don't matter.

It's important to remember that so-called "high-functioning" autism doesn't mean someone is "less" autistic; it means society experiences their autism less.

You don't get to decide if someone is struggling or not just because they're verbal, employed, independent, or neurotypical-passing. You especially don't know what autism felt like for them growing up, the events leading up to their diagnosis, and what kinds of support they needed.

Perhaps it's time to broaden your understanding of autism.