Sorry really stupid question is it possible to be verbal and severely autistic sorry if this offends anyone

[autumnsmum]

The question is really what I asked above dd is being statemented and may go to special school but I am never sure whether to describe her as severely autistic because she can speak would she be described as moderately autistic.thank you for any help

People are really either 'Autistic' or 'Not Autistic'. I think the Spectrum concept does rather mislead people in this regard. The question is, really, 'is dd severely impaired by her her problems?' Even people with a diagnosis of High Functioning Autism can have severe impairments, although more likely to vary depending on the situation. Irrespective of her verbal ability if your dd's problems are significant in most settings, I would say she is probably severely impaired. But you will be the person who knows this best. Good luck with the Statement.

Yes, verbal language is not the defining marker of 'severity' of autism.

Agreeing. Language can be a bit of a red herring. DS1 is verbal - highly articulate in some circumstances - but in many ways more severely impaired than his brother with limited verbal skills.

Thank you very much for your replies I have always worried about describing dd as severely autistic in case it offends people with non verbal dcs but she is very behind for her age

My dd 14 would be classed as Aspergers if our NHS used it (they diagnose everyone ASD). She has great verbal ability and a high IQ but she is significantly impacted by her ASD and attends a special school for none academic reasons. When her learning was assessed at the age of 13 she scored age 15 equivalent but functionally/emotionally she's like a little 6 year old.

My DD is non verbal. "Severely autistic" is not offensive. Its such a grey area though. In some ways she is severely affected..some mildly

I agree with the others.

My sons speech is now excellent [although was very impaired until about 4 yrs old, to the point of only me and his brothers understood him] but he is still very autistic in some ways.

Him having good speech often gets comments of 'he seems 'normal' or 'he doesn't look autistic' because lots of people think of completely non verbal children when you say autism.

Obviously I can't speak for parents of non verbal children, but I am aware that we are 'lucky' that he isn't affected in that way, but its still hard as Im sure you know.

You know your daughter, so you can judge how severely she is affected in comparison to how she would be if she were NT.

Yes re what sazale says, my son is 10, but emotionally it can be like dealing with a toddler.

He is clever and says stuff sometimes that makes me and others say wow! seemingly really deep things, but yet he can be very babyish, or he is unable to communicate pain or has an inappropriate reaction to it [he will laugh instead of cry]

It is so much more than language.