Explain to me why you offence is caused by saying things like 'mildly autistic' etc.

[Purpleturtle45]

If ASD is a spectrum why do people commonly disagree that you can be mildly autistic or severely autistic etc.

My daughter is diagnosed with ASD, however you wouldn't really know unless you knew her well. She goes to mainstream school and copes well with everyday life most of the time so to me I would say she is mildly autistic but I often see people getting ripped to shreds on here for using that term.

Genuinely wondering how 'spectrum' can literally be in the title of the condition but people disagree there can be different severities.

I think the word mild helps when we are dealing with non experts and a lot of people who will come into contact with autistic people aren't clinical psychiatrists. For instance I really do believe the teaching profession needs to discuss autism as there is a major debate on SEND currently and they will need a language to relate to when making policy decisions regarding such disorders through an educational lens, in this case 'mild' would be semantic shorthand for net requiring a lot of adaption for teaching.

I don't think offence should be taken over this and getting over focused on the term mild may lead to the impression that some parents are avoiding it to reduce the danger of educational support and other funds being reduced. I think this protective stance plays into the hands of Reform et. al.

But it gives zero indication of needs and by calling it mild people do assume you have no needs

My son gets maximum level PIP in both categories. I use this as an example of his level of need. Presumably PIP or DLA awards could be used as a gauge of how ‘severe’, or not, anyone’s autism is - given that it should be awarded based on need not diagnosis.

<awaits flaming>

This.

Also on the pregnancy analogy. You are pregnant or not. But if you are 36 weeks you are 'heavily pregnant' and likely experiencing different symptoms to someone who is 16 weeks pregnant.

If I hear the term mild autism I imagine someone who can function in daily life - have a job, children and a home and have ways to cope with any difficulties through family support or meds. If I hear severely autistic I think non verbal, meltdowns, carers, no personal care, unable to live without community support.

I think our world is becoming more overwhelming for many people which is why more people are finding it difficult to manage.

I've seen "low support needs" and "high support needs" being used a lot on instagram. I think it sounds inclusive.

I am an autism specialist.

I work with autistic adults in crisis. No learning disabilities. They may not have been in crisis 3 years ago and were managing well, in an environment that they were familiar with or met their needs. Many were at University, or in child services, school or had good reasonable adjustments at work.

Something changed, a boss, Covid, a house move, new staff and now they can no longer manage. They may be admitted to a psychiatric ward to keep them safe, or be homeless or brushing up against the criminal justice system and using unhelpful coping strategies like self injury, A & E, drugs or alcohol. They may have burnt out, or catatonia, suicidal ideation etc.

Were they mild when they were coping? Are they mild now?

It's the environment that matters.
Autism + environment = outcome.

This is not an opinion I share but there are those that think (wrongly) ASD/ADHD is a tax payer funded through parents are more than keen to dip into by exaggerating their children's inability to fucntion. Therefore having words like 'Mike's though medically incorrect does show the public at large parents of autistic children are willing to accept , yes, some children will need more support than others.

Maybe parents of autistic children view the term 'mild' as a threat then the go element is undergoing discussions about SEND funding. I think this is understandable when you are worried about support being removed from your child from a parental perspective but I don't think you will be able to avoid decision makers qualifying the impact of disability somehow when it comes to funding decisions.

You think a flawed system where 70℅ of people go to tribunal and win is the best way to decide disability level? You can't base needs on the say so of someone who assessed someone for an hour and denied them because they don't understand their disability. It's almost as bad the nimbus / access card system

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/jan/21/crunch-time-send-special-needs-education-england-ifs

SEND costs are to soar in the future and therefore SEND has become a political football. If costs are to be saved inevitability hard choices will have to be made and those choices will ultimately be made by defining in some manner how severe an impact a disability has in reality in a child's education. The word 'mild' won't be used necessarily but here will be language that performs the same function in differentiating students for funding reasons. It may very much be the case those with less severe disability are going to lose out in the future so I can see why parents are fearful of the word 'mild' as they can see support leaking away with future government proposals. I think SEND funding plays into the debate about classifying disability severity.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwywkn9pr0o

When these are the views of the prevailing political party disability severity is indeed in the political domain so we are going to have to get used to categorisation such as 'mild' because terms such as this will be being used by politicians to push the debate. I don't know if taking offence is necessarily the right approach.

All the word mild (when used to discuss the wider autistic population) does is make people make assumptions. It is based upon what others can see not the daily issues someone is facing.

SEND funding is on the floor, and some of it is those who shout loudest, get the money.

We have to start to teach some children to help themselves from a young age. Self regulation strategies, carrying an overlay, setting alarms for things, setting alarms to eat etc. The responsibility can't lie entirely on the mainstream education system. Some of the support written into EHCPs is completely not viable in a mainstream secondary school. I accept there arent enough special places currently, as a country we need to get more state special places. Not get more private places which are charging the state a fortune to provide the same service.

Thing is, most of what he says is correct. There are an army of piss takers out there. Ask any teacher!

This is quite a good point.

I was diagnosed with Asperger's also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (official diagnosis, it was at the switchover between terms back in 2012).

I was in crisis because of bullying in work. I was away from family and friends. I was not coping.

During COVID I initially did not cope (health issues, a toddler, but also an essential worker but WFH. So it was stressful). Then nurseries reopened and I thrived being out of an open plan office with all the stresses and stims that came with it. Far less sensory and emotional overwhelm. Fewer comments/ less self conscious about any stains/ need to move about/ my volume (I also have ADHD).

Now, I have a happy mix of hybrid working - majority from home. In a job that suits me (but others would likely find highly stressful). A loving husband, two children, and a dog. I am doing well. But, certain kinds of stress/ lack of clarity / certainty can cause me to become highly distressed. It often surprises people when I get overwhelmed and stressed it about seemingly little things (not being able to get the right/ guarantee an appropriate desk on office days, lights being too bright, small things that make me worry I am going to be late, anything to do with a supermarket) but can cope with major work crises really well.

I still need reminding to eat and drink. Or I will forget.

*stims, not stains. Silly autocorrect

As someone with arthritis, It's not saying their suffering isn't as valid. It's a clinical indicator, not a quality of life measure.

We could use the terms 'well managed/under control with medications' vs poorly managed/difficult to get the disease process under control with medications'. In a similar way to being ND - some people are able to manage the impact on their life with support and learnt strategies so able to function well (look after thenself, maintain positive relationships, work etc) on a day to day basis. And for some Al the support and strategies in the world couldn't enable them to do that.

As someone who is ND and has arthritis I an happy to use the words mild and high functioning. But I do feel that those terms need to come from the person themselves or those close to them who understands their lived experience, rather than from a dr or observer.

Late to this thread, but just to say I completely agree with you. It’s surely just common sense. People are too caught up in the discourse that mild/high-functioning labels may underestimate individuals experience. This is true. But it doesn’t stop the fundamental fact that in a spectrum condition (even a multidimensional one) we make an arbitrary cut-off for diagnosis so it logical that there are degrees of severity.

But the same applies to all conditions! Why should autism be a special case?

I have a neurological condition that causes physical disability. I am a wheelchair user. I spend 50% of my life in bed. I can’t do housework or cook. I need help showering and dressing. By anyone’s yardstick I am severely disabled.

But in the context of my condition I am described as ‘mild’. As severe as I perceive my disability to be to me, the word ‘severe’ is reserved for those people who are completely bed bound, can’t breathe without a ventilator, can’t swallow and are fed through a tube, and cannot communicate at all.

I don’t get hung up on the word ‘mild’. I understand that it doesn’t mean my struggles are literally mild. It means that in comparison to other people with my condition, they have it much worse.

If you can mask, you are by definition affected more mildly. My DS can’t pretend he’s not autistic 9-5.

This is so valid.

I have a friend with “mild” autism who’d muddled through fine until her forties - if you met her, you’d probably describe her as quirky, creative, forgetful and smart.

Until a series of relatively everyday life changes hit her one after the other and she ended up attempting suicide, medicated and in hospital on and off for over a year.

Does she still have mild autism?

Doesn’t she have mild autism with a mental health condition on top? Why would a person be admitted to a mental heath ward if they don’t have a mental disorder?

if you can mask, you are by definition affected more mildly

Okay - and what happens when the stress of masking becomes too much, or something changes in your life (could be as minor as a house move or a new manager at work) and all of a sudden everything falls apart to the point that you’re suicidal, medicated, in hospital and in lifelong treatment.

Is that still “mild” autism?

Many people only function okay because they set their lives up to accommodate their needs - if those accommodations change then everything falls apart very quickly.

No. She was admitted to a mental health ward because once her support system fell apart, she could no longer mask and her life fell apart and she went into autistic shutdown.

I have mild hearing loss. The mild part is correct as I need more help than my friends who can hear but I don't need as much help as my friends DS who uses hearing aids

They don't.

I have mild asthma, nobody is surprised that I need inhalers and react to animals and pollution, but don't need an ambulance.

If someone has a mild headache I expect them to take paracetamol but perhaps not cocodamol, and no brain scan.

Mild glaucoma is treated with prostagladins not surgery and glasses not a guide dog.

Mild arthritis is treated very occasionally with morphine, more often with paracetamol, but doesn't need a joint replacement.

I could go on all flipping day with this list.

The word is used about so many conditions, probably most conditions, that it's completely unreasonable to demand that it's not used about autism.