Good to see you back! The issue of levels is a tricky one. While it's unlikely anyone will confuse a level 3 autistic people with level 1 or vice versa there is a lot of fuzziness between l1 / l2 and l2 / l3. Sometimes someone who seems broadly level 1 will struggle much more with certain activities than someone who is level 2. Clearly these decisions aren't just of academic importance as they can affect the level of support someone gets. If these classifications must be done maybe it's better to give a level for each activity, e.g. employment, handling household tasks, than making decisions based on an overall level. it's equivalent to giving someone a single intelligence score which fails to reflect that while their verbal score might be very high their spatial or numerical score could be very poor. Rating abilities for different skills and abilities makes most sense.
Good to see you back in action!! I have ASD-2. I think you will be able to acquire the level 2 diagnosis. My co-parent and I just had our son 6yrs old have his cognitive assessment and ASD-2 diagnosis. I had done the same assessment last year with the same fellow, you will have no worries getting the level 2 just based on your videos and how you describe your life. Have fun! It is kinda fun.
Our experiences are quite similar in that I too remain housebound, however we seem to have an oddly parallel experience at the moment in that just as you have stopped going out for walks but are now able to spend time in your garden I can no longer spend time in my garden but am now going out for some small walks (only for about 30mins on about 3 days in the week, and always around exactly the same route).My therapist also has a focus on ACT, so I'll be interested to hear how you get on with your new therapist. I'm a bit confused about my level, as I was not given a level 1, 2 or 3 with my diagnosis, however I was given a functional impairment rating of moderate - which I guess is equivalent in some way to level 2? Thought it isn't clear to me because I think that it includes all my difficulties not just autism. Either way, I know I require a lot of support and have never really worked, and depend on my close family to survive. I do wonder if level 1 autism has become so different from how autism (or even asperger's back in the day) was understood, that it distorts the whole level system. Or is there perhaps a need for a level 0?
Yes I would put you as level 2 as well. I don't think levels are given frequently here, more in the USA. I agree that the NDM has distorted autism so much that levels don't always make sense. I think more levels are needed if they are going to use them - maybe 5 levels, where middle ones are for people like us, upper ones for those with non verbal ''profound'' autism, lower levels for those with minimal support needs. Three levels doesn't really reflect the diversity. And even in a level, people vary.
I see it as more management than recovery. If a whole bunch of very independent influencers who admit no issues in childhood & decades say they have ASD1 diagnosis, then you are miles apart from them. So likely ASD2. Heck, I had significant features in childhood & have rateable impairments now (under "mental injury") & deemed just under threshold for ASD diagnosis. What complicates the picture is comorbidites. I am considered "independent but not very effective at it". Only possible with a benefit as my main income as I can only manage a part time job.
@@welcome12ization the autism levels don't really mean anything in my case as my autism features are "mild" (yet ironically more prominent than the popular influencers who quietly admit that had no features in childhood or for decades). It's the "mental injury" (PTSD & bipolar disorder tangled together) which is my main clinicical impairment. In your case, you probably do meet criteria for ASD2 with both your childhood & adulthood difficulties. Although some clinicians may argue that's your OCD & anxiety. Either way, you don't have full independence & need a lot of support.
Just letting you know, i have someone on discord who is looking for evidence on neurodiversity ideology and conservative austerity welfare reform, they want to do a research paper on how it is harming Autistic and disabled people
I believe atypical autism was diagnosed if you didn’t meet the exact criteria for ‘autistic disorder’ and the exact criteria for ‘Asperger’s disorder’ (DSM IV profiles). People diagnosed with atypical autism usually have a profile that looked like a mixture of the two. You are right in saying that it is sometimes called PDD-NOS. They may have given you a diagnosis of atypical autism versus Asperger’s due to Asperger’s being seen as a mild form of autism at the time (myth). I’ve seen some of your other videos and it sounds to me like you may not have fit the ‘mild’ stereotype. Correct me if I’m wrong, but from watching your videos it sounds to me like you’ve had prominent and noticable autism-related traits/challenges since a very very young age (which was seen as less typical in Aspeger’s) yet had seemingly good/normal speech and language development (therefore didn’t meet the DSM IV autistic disorder criteria, including the diagnostic label of ‘high functioning’ autistic disorder which was sometimes given). Hence the diagnosis of atypical autism. As you say, it doesn’t really matter any more as it’s all ASD. You clearly struggle a lot more than people diagnosed as Level 1 so hope you get Level 2 put on your records and get some support
Psychiatrist worded my son's childhood diagnosis (pre-2013) as "Asperger's autism". He spoke well (unless dysregulated) & needed support from the special needs department & specialists. No intellectual disability.
Have you tried one of those low inflammatory diets that don't contain fiber, casein, gluten, sweeteners, vegetables oils? Its supposed to reduce autistic symptoms.
