Highly Overrated

Another semester begins, and with it a whole new round of classmates and professors. I'm finding that all of my professors begin their classes the same way in the Education department. "Let's go around the room and say your name, area of study, and why you are in education!" And around the room we go, with the answers all blending together..."I've always liked kids", "I've always worked with kids", and "I've always felt like teaching is my calling" are popular answers. Then we get to me.

"I'm Mama, doing Special Education, and I'm here because of my daughter. She is on the autism spectrum and I want to be her teacher, as well as help other kids who are on the spectrum."

That answer always gets some attention.

I've gotten to have several conversations due to my little introduction, but two in particular have caused some thinking on my part. Both times I was asked the question "Is she high functioning or low functioning?"

I never know what to say to that.

What is high functioning? Someone who barely seems autistic? Someone who speaks well, but has some social problems? Someone who is in a "regular" class in public school? I really don't know what "high functioning" looks like. On the other hand, what is low functioning? Someone who stims all the time? Someone who is non-verbal? To be honest, this always conjurs the image of a child who sits staring off and rocking, completely oblivious to the world around them.

I don't see my daughter in either of these terms. So many people tell me that they know someone who was diagnosed with "high functioning autsim" and that always throws me for a loop...what doctor uses that as a label? It certainly isn't in the DSM-V. No one with any sort of authority has ever told me that she is "severe" or "low functioning" or "high functioning". So when people ask, I always pause and sort of stutter. I want to tell them that it isn't that simple. I want to tell them that high and low are two ends of a very wide spectrum. That I can't look at my smart, funny, headstrong, improving-by-the-day, little girl and say that she is low functioning. But I also know that in the eyes of most everyone, she would not be considered high functioning.

So I chose to say that she is neither, and that those terms are highly over rated. Those terms have no purpose in my life, and do no justice to my girl. They don't mean a darn thing in regards to her future success in life, and they certainly don't change the way I treat her.

Besides, functioning isn't my goal. How about words like "thriving", "shining", and "happy"? Now those are words that I'm ready to label her any day...