What is High-functioning autism?

High-functioning autism (HFA) is an autism classification where a person exhibits no intellectual disability but may show deficits in communication, emotion recognition and expression, and social interaction.HFA is not included in the American Psychological Association's DSM-5 or the World Health Organization's ICD-10, subdividing autism based on intellectual capabilities. High-functioning autism is characterised by features similar to those of Asperger syndrome. The defining characteristic psychologists recognise there is a significant delay in developing early speech and language skills before three years. The diagnostic criteria of Asperger syndrome exclude a general language delay.

Other differences in features of people with high-functioning autism from those with Asperger syndrome include the following:

Lower verbal reasoning ability
Better visual/spatial skills (Being uniquely artistically talented)
Less deviating locomotion (e.g. clumsiness)
Problems functioning independently
Curiosity and interest in many different things
Not as good at empathising with other people
Male to female ratio (4:1) is much smaller

As of 2013, Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism are no longer terms the American Psychological Association uses and have 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.[21][22]

High-functioning autism (HFA) is an autism classification where a person exhibits no intellectual disability but may show deficits in communication, emotion recognition and expression, and social interaction. High-functioning autism is characterised by features similar to those of Asperger syndrome. The defining characteristic psychologists recognise there is a significant delay in developing early speech and language skills before three years. The diagnostic criteria of Asperger syndrome exclude a general language delay.