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There are people with so-called low functioning autism or Classic Kanner's Autism who are good at systemizing, coding, finding patterns, too. Matching dates to days of the week is one example at the savant level; however, most people who have autism and who are also savants are not usually high functioning socially. Daniel Tamet is one example of a person with savant skills who is also considered high functioning. Kim Peak, the real Rainman, is considered low functioning socially, but he also has savant skills.
High functioning/low functioning classifications cannot be based on intelligence level either since a) IQ tests are ethnocentric/socio-centric, and in other ways, generally unreliable and measure averages (most people with autism have varying intelligences with peaks and valleys) and b) intelligence level does not correlate with language ability. So the idea that people with Asperger's are more intelligent is a myth. I'm not saying this because my formal diagnosis is autistic disorder. I am considered Asperger's by some people/autistic disorder by others; it really doesn't matter. It depends on who's deciding to place a label on my differences.
The main issue that separates low/high functioning is verbal language ability. A child may not speak until age four; therefore, having a combination of other traits of autism, he/she may be diagnosed with autistic disorder. When I was a child I exhibited many traits of autistic disorder and I was "in my own world". For example I would take in large amounts of information (memorization) from stories on cassettes I'd listen to and then repeat them over and over and over again to myself and to my grandmother and to the dogs and record myself telling the stories when my grandma asked me to say hello to my aunt on a cassette grandma was recording to send her. I couldn't say, "Hi Aunt" or ask how she was doing. This kind of socializing never crossed my mind. In addition, my first words were not for people, they were names of objects, such as "hot pie" referred to all food that I liked. I did not socialize well with other children. I had extreme meltdowns due to sensory issues, etc.
So, the major difference in classifying the two is the verbal language impairment. Granted, autism as a disorder is known also as a nonverbal communication disorder. This means that there is a gamut of communication skills that a person with autism may not understand. This may include, but not in every case, and is not limited to, eye contact, physical gestures, reading body language, tone of voice, topic of conversation, conversation/relational skills, pedantic speech, lack of speech, talking too loud or talking too quiet, interrupting others, monologues, echolalia, etc.
When someone is low functioning as a child he/she may some day may gain verbal skills to a level that the diagnosis will obviously change to high functioning. This person still has autistic disorder. Granted, if parents or an individual wish to be labeled Asperger's because they think the label autism will harm them in some way, then they can do that. It depends on the doctor, the level of symptoms present, etc.
Autism is considered a PDD -- Pervasive Developmental Disability. The NOS merely means NOT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED because there is a combination of symptoms that do not classify the disorder with enough rigidity for it to be included as strictly autism. Hope this makes sense. Many who have a diagnosis of PDD - NOS have behaviors that are not defined as strictly autistic. If they did, then they would be considered autistic. However, again, it depends on the doctor and the methods used. I'm sure a lot of people who have autism are misdiagnosed as PDD - NOS and the other way around due to lack of observation/insight, etc.
That's why it's good to get a second opinion and to see specialists who know which behaviors they're looking for and not just searching for a "mental illness".
Also, autism is a neurological or neurobiological disorder. This is different from a mental illness. Mental illness is most often chemical, though it can be hereditary. Autism is a developmental disability. Mental illness is not a developmental disability. Autism cannot be cured. Medications, therapies, etc., can sometimes help people with mental illness, in fact, sometimes cure them.
Autism is like the base of a pyramid and mental illness is like a different level up that is supported by the base of the pyramid. Mental illness can be an issue for most people with autism because the world is constructed around neurotypical behaviors and social rules. For a person with autism this causes a lot of stress and anxiety. Often people with autism have co-morbid mental illness not limited to PTSD, anxiety, Obsessive compulsive anxiety disorder, bi-polar disorder (though I believe this tends to be more hereditary and not an actual illness caused by autism itself), and lets not forget depression.
No, you don't have to be decent at math, programming, or engineering to be a person diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. A person with AS can be someone who collects leaves and dries them. In order to be formally diagnosed a person usually experiences behaviors to such an extreme that the behaviors interfere with the person's ability to function in daily life. If a person is a master programmer he/she may have AS or traits of AS, but not actually need a diagnosis because he or she is doing fine in life (for the most part). I've heard of people with AS who seem perfectly content, but everyone else, including their spouse, thinks they are rude, arrogant, etc. But this person has a unique personality, so he/she may not be bothered by some things that bother other people with autism, like knowing there is a difference. There are people on the spectrum who are oblivious to their differences and live their entire lives thinking everyone else is simply a moron. Sometimes these people end up being highly successful. Sometimes they end up in group homes.
To clear it up, I am not Classic Type. Classic Kanner's Autism is considered a severe form of autism. I am someone who has autistic disorder, but it is not Classic Kanner's Autism. It is possible, though, that many people (and I could be and still be typing all of this) are Classic Kanner's Autism and have learned to use a typing device and so they can reach people by typing what they think, but sometimes people have impaired motor skills so it may be very difficult, or too expensive, for them to type so society may go on being ignorant about the fact that this person with Classic Kanner's Autism is actually an intellectual being. It is a matter of appearances and the neurological outcomes that have determined the individual's physical capabilities, but this does not mean the person does not have a mind, much less an intelligent mind.
I write far better than I can communicate verbally, but it varies depending on how I feel. If I am sensorily overwhelmed I may write simply and not come across as intended. I am fairly transparent, so the way I feel determines the tone of my writing and this can be an issue, especially with emails. I can be direct, too, which causes people to feel like their toes have been stepped on and is not good for business. I will never understand hierarchy and I focus on trying to get a job done by going directly to the person who can fulfill my needs the quickest, so talking to one person who talks to another and another and doesn't even ask the person in charge is simply asinine to me. I will always mess that one up no matter what because in the heat of the moment it will make sense to be direct, so I will forget it is uncouth.
Being able to write in a logical way does not mean my comprehension is good. Comprehension may be good sometimes, other times not. This can depend on sensory issues. If sounds are overwhelming I may not be able to concentrate. I also do not comprehend the way some sentences are written and I probably fill in the blanks with what I think I'm reading I am just extremely adapted at pretending I know what is going on. I have my logic as a back-up skill, but under pressure it very easily falls apart.
For example, I was chosen as a finalist (8 people out of 430) to compete in a fiction writing competition in a couple of weeks. But, within an hour of finding out I was crying on the phone to my sister about how I felt responsible for killing a hatchling duck. I will cry about an animal, but when a person is harmed or something terrible happens on the news I feel nothing. My emotions are that of an 11 year old girl. People who are close to me know this and they understand that I will be unreasonable and fall apart over things like a child would, but that at the same time I can accomplish something they cannot.
Another way to explain this is that I have studied everything I could after finding out about autism in my family. I am voracious when I take on a research topic. I've been on several panels here in the community I live in because of this. I've seen these questions dozens of times; furthermore, I can combine other research on neurology and linguistics and draw from that in order to combine different theories and make use of them when I answer these questions I've heard before. By delving deep into these topics in a discussion like this one, I often have new realizations that prompt further knowledge and study, so the amount of information I have amassed in my brain is pretty good, for the most part.
I also type fast, but not too fast. My mother types about 120-130 wpm. I type about 80 or so.
To answer your question about my business degree being futile: I went back to school and studied creative writing. I had the imagination, but lacked the writing skills and needed to learn more about structuring stories and grammar. I learned a lot--probably part of how I am able to write like this.
Right now I do whatever I want to do. At one time I strove for something different, but that wore me out and I knew I had to change my life before I gave up...so...
I write. Publish some little things here and there. Work on the coffee table book. Take photographs. Read. Study my animals--I always have several strange projects going. Basically, I'm an eccentric person, but I have someone who cares enough about me to let me be who I am-someone who has seen me trying to be normal out in the social world, seen me fail miserably and does not want me to do that again.
Yes, my son and I are both considered autistic disorder. We are, according to our doctors, "obviously" high functioning which is probably why that wasn't put down on paper.
People who have autism seem to, for the most part, have difficulty getting along. We tend to butt heads a lot, but I've heard of relationships where both parties have autism and they are a perfect fit.
When we get together in autism group many of us speak out loudly, laugh loud, say random things, become irritated, get up and pace, etc. I can appear very professional and serious, but I say random things in a low tone of voice. I often say inappropriate things like fart jokes and such and I have always gotten away with it--probably due to my physical appearance, though this is not fair.
